Mike D'Antoni Says Rockets Must 'Impose Our Will' vs. Warriors in Game 3
Houston Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni said Friday his team will need to dig deep in Game 3 after it dropped the first two contests of their second-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors.
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle provided comments from D'Antoni, who noted the Rockets must be "a little more conscientious and compete" to turn the series around Saturday night.
"Who imposes their will? Champions come from your heart and your head and your willpower," he said. "It doesn't come from 'I play prettier than you do.' You've got to get down in the mud. You've got to slug it out. That's where you make champions. Champion is a personality thing. We've got to impose our will."
Houston didn't play poorly on the road. It lost Game 1 by four points and Game 2 by six points, and it outscored the two-time defending NBA champions in the fourth quarter of each contest.
The result was still a 2-0 series deficit, however, and the Rockets are facing a virtual must-win situation Saturday to avoid a likely insurmountable 3-0 Warriors advantage.
D'Antoni's confident the results will flip by cleaning up the basics, per Feigen.
"You can go into a detailed explanation of all this," he said. "We can't turn the ball over. We have to be sharper on offense. We have to get our pace up. Hit somebody on defense boxing out. If we do that, we're fine without changing anything else."
Improving on the defensive glass may be the most important factor of all. The Warriors hold a 26-13 advantage in offensive rebounds through two games, averaging 17 second-chance points in the series.
The Rockets have reason for optimism, though. They went 3-1 against Golden State during the regular season and won both games on the road. They've proved they can go into Oracle and get a victory, which will be significant if they can get back on track at home over the next two contests.
Their attempted comeback bid begins Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
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