Draymond Green concedes Warriors deserved 'Whoop That Trick' treatment for Rockets in Game 5 loss
Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green admitted that the Houston Rockets were the better team in Game 5. The Warriors had an opportunity to eliminate the Rockets, but they fell flat and were blown out 131-116. Golden State still has an opportunity to close the series at home in Game 6.
In his postgame interview, Green reacted to his team's disappointing performance in Wednesday's contest. They lacked the effort that gave them a 3-1 series lead heading into Game 5. He even joked about the Rockets deserving to celebrate with Terrence Howard's iconic hit, "Whoop That Trick."
"They weren’t playing 'Whoop that Trick,' but they may as well have been," Green said, according to The Athletic's Anthony Slater.
"Whoop That Trick" was famously used by the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2022-23 NBA season. However, it backfired on them when they were eliminated by the LA Lakers in the first round of the playoffs despite being the No. 2 seed.
As for the Golden State Warriors, they didn't have it in them in Game 5, trailing as much as 31 points against the Houston Rockets. Coach Steve Kerr waved the white flag early and pulled out his starters in the third quarter.
Steph Curry only scored 13 points on 12 shots, while Jimmy Butler was limited to just eight points after shooting 2-for-10 from the field. Draymond Green played just 18 minutes and put up seven points. Moses Moody had a team-high 25 points off the bench.
Meanwhile, Fred VanVleet led the way for the Rockets with 26 points and two assists. Alperen Sengun had 15 points, nine rebounds, nine assists, two steals and two blocks, while Dillon Brooks and Amen Thompson scored 25 and 24 points, respectively.
Steve Kerr spoke to Draymond Green about resting starters amid blowout
With the Golden State Warriors down by 27 points at halftime, coach Steve Kerr consulted with Draymond Green regarding resting the starters. Green wanted to try for at least the first five minutes of the second half before looking forward to Game 6.
"I wasn't going to chase this game, obviously, with Game 6 coming up in 48 hours," Kerr said, according to The Athletic's Anthony Slater. "Talked to Draymond, said, 'What do you think?' He said, 'Five minutes.' So, we gave the starting group the first five or six minutes. Unless we made a huge run, we kind of had in mind that we would pull the plug."
Game 6 will be held on Friday at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California.
