After steamrolling the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1, the Houston Rockets would have every reason to rest on their laurels tonight in Game 2 (9:30 ET). A 1-1 series ledger as the series shifts back to Houston for Games 3 and 4 is nothing to feel bad about. But as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle notes, Rockets star James Harden is imploring his team to stay aggressive in Game 2:
With the Rockets’ 126-99 demolition of the Spurs still fresh, just moments after Rockets fans giddily serenaded James Harden with an “MVP” chant, Harden stood in the AT&T Center visitor’s locker room to deliver a sober, determined message.
“We have to keep that intensity,” he said. “I told the guys right after the game, as soon as we got into the locker room, ‘Let’s be mature. Let’s go out here and get greedy. Let’s get two.’
“With that said, it’s not going to be easy. We hit them in the first game; second game is going to be a lot tougher. The guys know that. We are ready.”
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“The best thing for us to do is to just forget about what happened in Game 1,” Rockets forward Trevor Ariza said. “Every game is a different game. The opportunities are going to be different, everything is going to be different. Just try to forget about Game 1 and refocus on Game 2.
“It is easier said than done, but in a series, I think you have to do that. Understand that you got a good win coming out, but move on from it because they are not going to play the same. They are not going to miss the shots they missed or have the same energy they had, so you have to understand that and understand that it is going to be a totally different situation.”
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That has not always been a Rockets strength. Since December, when the Rockets were still driven to prove themselves, they have generally handled adversity better than prosperity. They did win Game 2 against the Thunder after a Game 1 blowout, but that was at home, against a less accomplished team that imploded down the stretch in ways unlikely by the Spurs.
The Rockets won’t count on that, but said they can count on themselves, refusing to view their one win, no matter how stunningly lopsided, as much of an accomplishment.
“They’ll have a reaction,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “These guys are champions. You expect them to do that. I expect our guys to match it or exceed it. There’s no reason not to. We haven’t won anything so far. We won one game. It’s a long series.”
