West Conf. Finals - Game 4: Houston Rockets 95-92 Golden State Warriors - 5 Talking Points

#1 The Rockets prove that they're worthy challengers

The Rockets have proved their mettle

For the first time in this series, we saw a certain Chris Paul taking control of the game with his offense for any period of time. Through the first 3 games, Paul shot below 50% from the field. The player we saw in Game 4, however, was not your regular Chris Paul - it was a true Point God we saw in action. If you watched the game, there is no way you forget the moment when he broke Steph's ankles for the third time this series (even though he missed the subsequent shot).

In addition to going 10-of-20 from the field, he scored an elite 5-of-9 from downtown, with most of them coming in the second half of the game. At one point, when Curry threatened to lead the Warriors out of the Rockets' sights in the 3rd quarter, Paul quieted the raucous Oracle crowd with his own threes. His haul of 27 points was as instrumental in the Rockets' win as Harden's 30.

Trevor Ariza played some of his best basketball and hit a huge clutch shot in the 4th quarter from the corner to give the Rockets an 85-84 lead. Eric Gordon was instrumental as well, scoring 14 points. Although he was again off from downtown, his lone 3-pointer was the difference-maker, as it put the Rockets up by 5 points with less than 2 minutes left. Gerald Green played much better defense than we've known him play. All-in-all, it was a collective effort that won the Rockets the game, more than anything