The Houston Rockets got the best of the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night, holding onto a 116-108 victory to snap Golden State’s 14 game road winning streak. One of the x-factors for Houston was young center Clint Capela, who finished with 18 points, and was a consistant problem for the Warriors in the pick-and-roll.
But Capela’s most notable moment on Saturday came after the game, when he made the claim that the Rockets, who have a worse record and point differential than the Warriors, are the better team.
“We’re confident because we know if we’re doing what we’re supposed to do, we’re going to beat them. We’ve got to keep playing. We know that they’re going to come back if we have the lead, and we’ve just got to keep that mindset. Sometimes I feel like, in the past, we were all dragging down after mistakes. But today, we were ready.
“I think that if we’re doing what we’re supposed to do on defense—all the switches, the weak side—and keep playing our offense by keeping that mentality all game long, we have the weapons to beat them. We are better than them.”
The Rockets were brimming with confidence after beating the Warriors for the second time this season, taking the season series, and cutting Golden State’s lead atop the Western Conference to 3.5 games.
“We really do have that chance,” Rockets guard Eric Gordon said. “Offensively, we’re just as good as them, no question. Defensively, they’re a championship team. They’re consistent, whether they win or lose. Us, we still have peaks and valleys. We just can’t have those. That’s why we’ve got to play well the next game, because we just have to sustain the same effort.”
The Warriors, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be affected much by the outcome.
“It’s game 40-what? Seven, eight?” Draymond Green asked after the game. “Who we play on Tuesday? We just got to get ready for [New York]. Home court will take care of itself down the road.”