There's plenty of comparisons to draw between the Golden State Warriors current first-round series with the Houston Rockets, and their Western Conference Semi-Finals matchup in 2022 against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Just like present against the Rockets, the Warriors were the veteran team in 2022 looking to take down the young, upstart, higher-seed Grizzlies who were looking to tame the lion and make a playoff statement.
Just like that Grizzlies series, Golden State were on the road on Wednesday with a 3-1 lead and a chance to close out the series in five. Yet in a similar vain to that 2022 second series, the Warriors essentially punted the game from the start and suffered an embarassing blowout loss.
The Warriors never gave themselves a chance in Game 5
Head coach Steve Kerr decided to wave the white flag by halfway through the third-quarter, having fallen behind by 16 at the end of the first-quarter and by 30 just five minutes into the second. Nothing went right for the Warriors through the first three-quarters, but their bench did show some fight in the fourth as the visitors eventually lost 131-116.
Golden State's lackluster performance was embodied by their veteran stars as Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green all struggled in the 15-point defeat. Curry did have 11 points in the second-quarter but otherwise had just 13 on 4-of-12 shooting and 3-of-9 from beyond the arc in 23 minutes, while Butler had eight points on 10 shots in an unusually inefficient 25 minutes.
Green did shoot 3-of-4 from the floor, though his defensive energy and intensity was severely lacking as the Rockets put up 76 first-half points on 69% shooting from the floor and 60% from 3-point range.
The lone silver lining is that Golden State's core got significant rest ahead of Thursday's Game 6, but the same couldn't be said for Houston who were forced to bring their starters back in during the final period.
The Warriors' garbage time lineup rose some anxiety among the home fans as they sensationally reduced the margin from 27 to 13, before a scuffle broke out that led to a pair of technicals for Trayce Jackson-Davis and Alperun Sengun, along with an ejection for Pat Spencer.
The Rockets steadied and eventually secured the win, but Ime Udoka won't be happy with having to put his starters back into a game that had been well and truly under lock and key.
Moses Moody took advantage of the fourth-quarter opportunity to finish with a team-high 25 points and nine rebounds, having shot 9-of-18 from the floor and 3-of-7 from 3-point range. Kevin Knox was Golden State's second-leading scorer with 14, while Spencer also had 11 points and four rebounds before his ejection.
The Warriors will be hoping history repeats given they were able to close out the 2022 Grizzlies series in Game 6, but they've now put pressure on themselves to achieve that and avoid a do-or-die Game 7 back in Houston.