Warriors defeat Rockets 99-98: Game 2 recap and full highlights (video)

By Jonathan Bass | May 22, 2015

May 21, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) celebrates the 99-98 victory after Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) turns the ball over during the second half in game two of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs. at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /

Golden State defeated Houston in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. Here’s a look at all that transpired.

The Golden State Warriors held on to a dramatic, 99-98 victory over the Houston Rockets in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals on Thursday night. It was a back-and-forth slugfest that featured punctuated runs by each team, and an ultimately sloppy, disjointed finish. Following are full highlights and a recap of the event.

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The game started out slowly, with the teams sloppily feeling each other out. Houston held an early lead, but after about five and a half minutes Golden State kicked into gear. Steph Curry started doing Steph Curry things (see: draining threes from here, there and everywhere), and by the time Leandro Barbosa knocked down a layup with one second to go, the Warriors went into the second quarter with a 36-28 lead and a bunch of momentum.

Golden State kept pressing forward in the second quarter, at one point pushing their lead to 17 points. The most emphatic basket during that run was, undoubtedly, a monster transition jam by Andre Iguodala.

Andre Iguodala get up!!! #IGGY https://t.co/1xvE8A88YY
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) May 22, 2015

Igs brought the house down. He also made Curry lose his damn mind and run around as excited as if the new phonebook came in the mail.

Steph Curry losing his mind after Iggy's dunk https://t.co/r7CLcOMr8I
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) May 22, 2015

However, rather than fold up shop, Houston dug deep and made a run of its own. James Harden started rebounding. James Harden started dropping dimes to Dwight Howard and Terrence Jones. James Harden started doing his best James Harden impersonation (see: putting MVPs on skates with a lethal step-back jumper).

James Harden crossing up Steph Curry #Cook https://t.co/xAiuXyCaoD
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) May 22, 2015

By the quarter’s end, Houston had closed the gap and tied the game on an alley-oop from Jones to Howard.

The teams kissed their sisters in the first half and entered halftime tied at 55.

Houston struck first after the half and pulled out to a six-point lead roughly midway through the period. However, just like the Rockets nutted up in the second, so did the Warriors in the third.

A timeout and Draymond Green trip to the line slowed pace a little bit and allowed Golden State to collect itself. From there, it was time for Klay Thompson to make a stand. In a three possession sequence the Splash Brother jayed a three-pointer from 23 feet out, nabbed a defensive rebound that led to a layup and then brought the house down with a monster dunk off an inbounds play.

Oracle Arena was fired up and was taking no prisoners.

By the end of the third, Golden State was up by two, 77-75.

The Warriors appeared to maintain control throughout the early part of the fourth, but by the midway point it was a back-and-forth battle.

Harden was scoring and dishing.

The Warriors were manning up at the last line of defense (Andrew Bogut had five blocks in the contest).

Houston would pull to within three with under a minute to go, and then forced an eight-second violation.

On the ensuing possession, Harden would toss an alley to Dwight to close the gap to one point. From there a defensive stop set Houston up with a chance to win. Alas, rather than call a timeout and diagram a play, Kevin McHale decided to roll the dice with his stars. The result was sloppy play, poor execution, and a terribly managed possession that ended things in an L for the Rockets.

Final score: 99-98 Golden State. The Warriors hold serve at home and lead the series 2-0. Game 3 is at 9:00 p.m. ET in Houston.

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