Western Conference Finals: Game 2

Welcome to another edition of WhoReps' look at the NBA Playoffs. Today we'll be looking at Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. Enjoy! Click a bolded name to see their personal page.                                            
                                                   
The Houston Rockets needed a win in the worst way. Having already surrendered home-court advantage in Game 1 with a disappointing loss, there was no way they could go down 0-2 at home to a juggernaut like the Golden State Warriors and hope to win the series. The unlikely duo of P.J. Tucker and Eric Gordon ensured that they wouldn't. The wing pair, much more unheralded than the All-World combo of Chris Paul and James Harden, took the reins and put up 49 points combined in a 127-105 blowout win. Tucker in particular could not miss, going an incredible 8 of 9. In his first year with Houston after years languishing on the moribund Phoenix Suns, Tucker is relishing in his first career Conference Finals appearance. Gordon is no stranger to wasted lottery seasons either, having spent a full eight years on some bad Clipper and Pelican teams before landing in H-Town. If they can keep shooting like this alongside Harden, Paul, and Swiss big man Clint Capela, they'll be tough to beat. Coach Mike D'Antoni, one of the most innovative offensive minds the game has seen in recent decades, will undoubtedly have some more wrinkles to throw at the defending champs.
 
But the Warriors will certainly be back and better than ever at home in Oakland. Steph Curry has yet to get it going at all through two games, and the team in general played uncharacteristically sloppy in the first half, with more turnovers than they had all of Game 1. Perhaps they got a little too confident after taking the opener on the road, and forgot this is by far the best team they've played in the playoffs during the Kerr era. Klay Thompson, so deadly in Game 1, may as well not have even gotten off the bus for this one, while playmakers and defensive stalwarts Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala seem terrified to shoot the ball. At some point, however, Steph Curry is going to have to become the Steph Curry again. He's simply looked nothing like a two-time MVP so far this series, and Houston found great success in this game attacking him defensively over and over. If he can't find that gear after all the knee issues he's had this season, this series is wide open. Game 3 is Sunday, and we can't wait!