HOUSTON — The Houston Rockets stormed back Wednesday night, April 23, 2025, at Toyota Center, dismantling the Golden State Warriors 109-94 in a gritty, physical Game 2 that knotted their first-round Western Conference playoff series at 1-1. Jalen Green, shaking off a shaky playoff debut, lit up the scoreboard with 38 points, including eight 3-pointers, in a performance that had the Houston crowd roaring and the Warriors scrambling.
The Rockets came out swinging, grabbing a 28-18 lead after the first quarter and never looking back. Green, the 2021 No. 2 draft pick, was unstoppable, hitting shots from every angle and finishing 14-of-24 from the field. Alperen Sengun anchored the paint with 17 points and 16 rebounds, while Tari Eason chipped in 14 points off the bench. Houston’s attack was relentless, shooting 47.4% from the field and capitalizing on 23 points off Warriors turnovers.
Golden State, missing the spark from Game 1, struggled to find rhythm. Stephen Curry managed 20 points and nine assists, becoming the 11th player in NBA history to eclipse 4,000 career playoff points, but it wasn’t enough. The Warriors’ offense sputtered, shooting just 39.1% from the field and 37.5% from beyond the arc. Jimmy Butler, hobbled by a pelvis contusion after a hard fall in the first quarter, limped through 14 scoreless minutes, a far cry from his 25-point outburst in Game 1.
Houston’s defense, led by coach Ime Udoka’s grinding, old-school style, smothered Golden State’s usually fluid attack. The Rockets forced 17 turnovers and held the Warriors to 34 points in the paint, a stark contrast to Golden State’s dominance inside two nights earlier. A 20-point Houston lead in the fourth quarter shrank briefly to 11 after a 9-0 Warriors run sparked by rookie Quinten Post’s two 3-pointers, but the Rockets slammed the door shut with a flurry of buckets from Green and Sengun.
The Warriors, now facing a pivotal Game 3, were dealt a blow with Butler’s injury. An MRI revealed no structural damage, but the star forward’s status for Saturday’s matchup in San Francisco remains uncertain. Houston, meanwhile, found its swagger, with Green’s postgame grin saying it all: “I got back to being myself.”
The series shifts to Chase Center for Game 3 on April 26, 2025, with tip-off set for 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC. Houston’s 12-of-32 shooting from 3-point range outpaced Golden State’s 6-of-29, while the Rockets also won the rebounding battle, 61-44. Golden State recorded 20 assists to Houston’s 19, but their 14 steals couldn’t offset the offensive woes.