“The lights were bright, the crowd was here, the court looked huge,” he said. “So I couldn’t really get a chance to settle in. My legs was a little shaky.”

Things were much different Wednesday night.

Green made eight 3-pointers and scored 38 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 109-94 victory over the Golden State Warriors in a testy matchup to even the first-round Western Conference series at one game apiece.

“I feel like a did a good job of answering back," he said. “From the beginning my whole mindset from today was to go in and be aggressive and get back to being myself.”

The seventh-seeded Warriors never led and played short-handed for most of the night after Jimmy Butler left with a pelvis contusion after a hard fall on a foul late in the first quarter.

Green, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft, rebounded from a flop in his playoff debut, when he scored just seven points on 3-of-15 shooting, with a dominant Game 2.

His eight 3-pointers were two more than the No. 2-seeded Rockets made on 6-of-29 shooting in a 95-85 Game 1 loss.

Alperen Sengun had 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Rockets. Tari Eason had 14 points off the bench.

Coach Ime Udoka raved about the combination of Green and Sengun.

“When they’re both rolling, we’re hard to beat,” he said.

Game 2 is Saturday night at Golden State.

Stephen Curry had 20 points and nine assists for the Warriors and become the 11th player in NBA history to reach 4,000 career playoff points. He finished the night with 4,017.

“He did a great job,” coach Steve Kerr said. “We just didn’t have enough tonight.”

Houston led by 20 with about 10 minutes left before the Warriors used a 9-0 run, with two 3s from Quinten Post, run to get within 11. Jalen Green was called for a flagrant foul on Draymond Green at the end of that run after he flailed an arm into his face.

The Rockets then used an 8-0 spurt, highlighted by a step-back 3 from Green, to extend the lead to 99-80 with 5 1/2 minutes remaining. Draymond Green received a technical foul in that stretch for arguing with officials and Eason received one for throwing a towel in an “unsportsmanlike manner.”

The loss of Butler, acquired from Miami in a February trade, was a huge blow to the Warriors after he had 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the series opener.

Kerr said it's too soon to speculate about the availability of Butler for Game 3. He'll have an MRI on Thursday.

“Hopefully Jimmy will be able to play,” he said. “But if not we have to go through our options and put together a plan.”

On top of Butler’s injury, the Warriors were also hampered by Brandin Podziemski’s stomach ailment.

He missed most of the first half dealing with the problem and was scoreless in 14 minutes after scoring 14 points in Game 1.

------

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Draymond Green vs. Alperen Sengun (Stephen Curry gains possession)	0	0
11:41	Draymond Green misses 24-foot three point jumper	0	0
11:39	Fred VanVleet defensive rebound	0	0
11:18	Amen Thompson makes 2-foot layup (Jalen Green assists)	2	0
11:09	Stephen Curry out of bounds bad pass turnover	2	0
10:47	Jalen Green bad pass (Draymond Green steals)	2	0
10:45	Fred VanVleet shooting foul	2	0
10:45	Moses Moody misses free throw 1 of 2	2	0
10:45	Warriors offensive team rebound	2	0
10:45	Moses Moody makes free throw 2 of 2	2	1
10:37	Jalen Green makes 26-foot three pointer	5	1
10:12	Jimmy Butler III misses 12-foot two point shot	5	1
10:10	Fred VanVleet defensive rebound	5	1
9:59	Moses Moody shooting foul	5	1
9:59	Amen Thompson makes free throw 1 of 2	6	1
9:59	Amen Thompson makes free throw 2 of 2	7	1
9:49	Stephen Curry makes 28-foot three pointer (Moses Moody assists)	7	4
9:36	Jalen Green misses 26-foot three point step back jumpshot	7	4
9:34	Moses Moody defensive rebound	7	4
9:27	Amen Thompson personal foul	7	4
9:24	Stephen Curry misses 23-foot three point shot	7	4
9:23	Alperen Sengun defensive rebound	7	4
9:14	Dillon Brooks makes 12-foot two point shot	9	4
9:00	Brandin Podziemski misses driving layup	9	4
8:59	Dillon Brooks defensive rebound	9	4
8:53	Amen Thompson makes 1-foot dunk (Jalen Green assists)	11	4
8:46	Moses Moody makes 25-foot three point jumper (Stephen Curry assists)	11	7
8:20	Moses Moody blocks Dillon Brooks's jumper	11	7
8:20	Rockets offensive team rebound	11	7
8:20	shot clock turnover	11	7
8:04	Draymond Green misses 23-foot three point jumper	11	7
8:04	Alperen Sengun defensive rebound	11	7
7:49	Alperen Sengun makes 3-foot dunk (Jalen Green assists)	13	7
7:44	Stephen Curry traveling	13	7
7:39	Draymond Green personal foul	13	7
7:36	Alperen Sengun misses driving floating jump shot	13	7
7:34	Jimmy Butler III defensive rebound	13	7
7:14	Brandin Podziemski misses 18-foot two point shot	13	7
7:13	Fred VanVleet defensive rebound	13	7
6:59	Dillon Brooks misses 22-foot three point jumper	13	7
6:58	Alperen Sengun offensive rebound	13	7
6:54	Jalen Green misses 26-foot three point jumper	13	7
6:52	Alperen Sengun offensive rebound	13	7
6:43	Dillon Brooks misses 8-foot two point shot	13	7
6:42	Jimmy Butler III defensive rebound	13	7
6:41	Amen Thompson personal foul	13	7
6:41	Rockets Full timeout	13	7
6:41	Tari Eason enters the game for Amen Thompson	13	7
6:41	Gary Payton II enters the game for Brandin Podziemski	13	7
6:29	Draymond Green bad pass (Alperen Sengun steals)	13	7
6:25	Gary Payton II shooting foul	13	7
6:25	Dillon Brooks makes free throw 1 of 2	14	7
6:25	Quinten Post enters the game for Jimmy Butler III	14	7
6:25	Dillon Brooks makes free throw 2 of 2	15	7
6:12	Moses Moody makes 23-foot three point jumper	15	10
5:58	Tari Eason makes 23-foot three point jumper (Jalen Green assists)	18	10
5:43	Dillon Brooks personal foul	18	10
5:31	Stephen Curry vs. Jalen Green (Tari Eason gains possession)	18	10
5:26	Stephen Curry lost ball turnover (Jalen Green steals)	18	10
5:25	Tari Eason lost ball turnover (Gary Payton II steals)	18	10
5:18	Moses Moody misses 27-foot three point shot	18	10
5:17	Jalen Green defensive rebound	18	10
5:07	Dillon Brooks out of bounds bad pass turnover	18	10
4:52	Dillon Brooks shooting foul	18	10
4:52	Draymond Green misses free throw 1 of 2	18	10
4:52	Warriors offensive team rebound	18	10
4:52	Jabari Smith Jr. enters the game for Dillon Brooks	18	10
4:52	Draymond Green makes free throw 2 of 2	18	11
4:37	Tari Eason makes 2-foot alley oop dunk shot (Alperen Sengun assists)	20	11
4:25	Moses Moody out of bounds lost ball turnover	20	11
4:09	Stephen Curry blocks Alperen Sengun 's 6-foot driving layup	20	11
4:08	Jimmy Butler III enters the game for Moses Moody	20	11
4:08	Warriors Full timeout	20	11
4:08	Rockets offensive team rebound	20	11
4:02	Alperen Sengun misses 26-foot three point jumper	20	11
4:01	Stephen Curry defensive rebound	20	11
3:49	Jimmy Butler III makes driving layup	20	13
3:34	Jalen Green makes 2-foot driving dunk	22	13
3:24	Stephen Curry misses 27-foot three point pullup jump shot	22	13
3:23	Jabari Smith Jr. defensive rebound	22	13
3:11	Jabari Smith Jr. misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	22	13
3:08	Warriors defensive team rebound	22	13
3:08	Steven Adams enters the game for Fred VanVleet	22	13
3:08	Amen Thompson enters the game for Alperen Sengun	22	13
3:08	Brandin Podziemski enters the game for Gary Payton II	22	13
3:08	Buddy Hield enters the game for Quinten Post	22	13
2:43	Stephen Curry makes 9-foot two point shot	22	15
2:28	Amen Thompson misses driving floating jump shot	22	15
2:28	Warriors defensive team rebound	22	15
2:28	Amen Thompson loose ball foul	22	15
2:28	Jimmy Butler III misses free throw 1 of 2	22	15
2:28	Warriors offensive team rebound	22	15
2:28	Aaron Holiday enters the game for Amen Thompson	22	15
2:28	Kevon Looney enters the game for Draymond Green	22	15
2:28	Gui Santos enters the game for Stephen Curry	22	15
2:28	Jimmy Butler III makes free throw 2 of 2	22	16
2:12	Jabari Smith Jr. makes 14-foot pullup jump shot (Aaron Holiday assists)	24	16
1:52	Brandin Podziemski misses 25-foot three point step back jumpshot	24	16
1:51	Rockets defensive team rebound	24	16
1:51	Gui Santos loose ball foul	24	16
1:51	Moses Moody enters the game for Jimmy Butler III	24	16
1:42	Jalen Green misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	24	16
1:39	Warriors defensive team rebound	24	16
1:25	Buddy Hield misses 25-foot three point jumper	24	16
1:24	Tari Eason defensive rebound	24	16
1:15	Tari Eason makes 2-foot two point shot	26	16
1:07	Gui Santos misses 25-foot three point jumper	26	16
1:05	Jabari Smith Jr. defensive rebound	26	16
59.1	Aaron Holiday misses running pullup jump shot	26	16
58.1	Moses Moody defensive rebound	26	16
45.1	Kevon Looney misses 14-foot jump bank shot	26	16
44.1	Tari Eason defensive rebound	26	16
28.1	Rockets Coach's Challenge	26	16
28.1	(00:28.6) [Rockets] COACH'S CHALLENGE (CALL OVERTURNED) [Rockets] retain their timeout	26	16
28.1	Gui Santos shooting foul	26	16
28.1	Fred VanVleet enters the game for Steven Adams	26	16
28.1	Stephen Curry enters the game for Brandin Podziemski	26	16
28.1	Jonathan Kuminga enters the game for Kevon Looney	26	16
28.1	Quinten Post enters the game for Gui Santos	26	16
28.1	Jalen Green makes free throw 1 of 2	27	16
28.1	Jalen Green makes free throw 2 of 2	28	16
12.2	Jonathan Kuminga misses driving layup	28	16
10.1	Buddy Hield offensive rebound	28	16
1.1	Buddy Hield makes 10-foot two point shot	28	18
0.1	Jalen Green traveling	28	18
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	28	18

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

Toyota Center (Houston)

Houston, TX

Date & Time

1:30 AM, April 24, 2025

Coverage

TNT, truTV, HBO Max, NBC Sports BA, Space City Home Network

Attendance

18,055

Referees

Courtney Kirkland, Sean Corbin, David Guthrie, Andy Nagy

2025-26 Pacific Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
LA Lakers	35	24	.593	W1
Phoenix	34	26	.567	W1
Golden State	31	29	.517	L1
LA Clippers	27	31	.466	L3
Sacramento	14	47	.230	W1

2025-26 Southwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
San Antonio	43	16	.729	W11
Houston	37	22	.627	L1
Memphis	22	36	.379	W1
Dallas	21	38	.356	L2
New Orleans	19	42	.311	W4

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Jalen Green makes eight 3s with 38 points to help Rockets even series with 109-94 win over Warriors

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