Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr shouldered the blame for his team’s 131-116 Game 5 blowout loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
“I didn’t have them ready to play, clearly,” Kerr said postgame, according to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater. “We committed three fouls in the first two minutes of the game. … We can’t come out with that lack of defensive focus and energy and expect to beat a great team on their own floor in a closeout game.”
The Warriors entered Wednesday ahead 3-1 in the first-round series. However, they trailed Houston by 27 at the half and by as much as 31.
“I think at halftime, their effective field-goal percentage was 95%,” Kerr said, according to ClutchFans. “I’ve never seen that in my life. You’re not winning that game.”
Kerr decided to waive the white flag early in the third.
“I wasn’t gonna chase this game, obviously, with Game 6 coming up in 48 hours,” Kerr said. “I talked to Draymond (Green), I said, ‘What do you think?’ He said, ‘Five minutes.’ So we gave the starting group the first five or six minutes, and unless we had made a huge run, we kinda had it in mind that we would pull the plug.”
All five of the Rockets’ starters scored in double digits. Fred VanVleet led the way with a game-high 26 points. Amen Thompson also shined with 25 points and five steals.
“They weren’t playing ‘Whoop That Trick,’ but they may as well have been,” Green said, according to Slater.
The Warriors will get their next chance to close out the series in Game 6 at Chase Center on Saturday. Jimmy Butler isn’t worried about the next game despite the rough Game 5 loss.
“We’re fine,” Butler said. “Our confidence isn’t going to waver. We’re going to start out better and play a better overall game.”
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