James Harden: Rockets Have 'Come A Long Way' After Leveling With Warriors

The Golden State Warriors lost a close Game 4 encounter as a late fourth quarter surge from the Houston Rockets saw them level their Western Conference Finals series to 2-2 with a 95-92 win at the Oracle Arena Tuesday night.

After a back-and-forth first two quarters, it looked like the home side would go on to win the game in the fourth quarter after establishing an 80-70 lead after three quarters.

However, the Rockets showed grit and determination both in offense and defense as they scored 25 points in the final quarter while the star-studded Warriors only managed a measly 12 points with Stephen Curry notably shooting just 1-for-8 despite another spectacular third quarter performance.

The 30-year-old scored a team-high 28 points overall with Kevin Durant adding 27 while for the Rockets, James Harden scored 30 points with Chris Paul adding 27 of his own to help end the defending champions' 16-match unbeaten postseason run at home.

It was a crucial response from the Houston side who lost Game 3 by a massive 41 points but were able to bounce back and show why they finished the Western Conference as the No. 1 seed. The win was even more impressive when one considers they started the game lagging 12-0 behind in the first quarter.

"We've been doing it all year long. That's the main reason we're in this position we're in today," Harden told reporters after the game. "Their Game [3] was just one loss, we all know what that is and we've got the mentality that we're going to win Game 4, we talked about it, we preached it and we came out there and didn't stop."

"They made runs, of course they were going to, especially at home and we just kept fighting, defensively kept locking in, making big-time shots, Chris [Paul] and Eric [Gordon] and Trevor [Ariza], guys made big-time shots in that fourth quarter."

The series is now poised at 2-2 with the Warriors seemingly being challenged for first time in the postseason since their 2016 NBA Finals series with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

With the Rockets notably losing 4-1 to the Warriors at this stage three years ago, Harden reflected on how far the team has come since then as they look to now take a 3-2 series lead at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

"We've come a long way. Obviously new personnel but we've come an extremely long way," Harden added. "We've been talking about it all season long, in the summer time, put ourselves in the best position and we're doing that. And so, there's another opportunity in Game 5, we got to come out and take advantage of it, simple."

Game 5 takes place Thursday night with Game 6 taking place the Oracle Arena on Saturday night. Should the series go the distance, the Rockets will have home-court advantage in Game 7, which will take place Monday night next week.