{"id":190539,"date":"2026-04-18T15:07:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T19:07:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=190539"},"modified":"2026-04-18T15:15:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T19:15:06","slug":"closure-for-a-rockets-warriors-jalen-green-saga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/04\/18\/closure-for-a-rockets-warriors-jalen-green-saga\/","title":{"rendered":"Closure For A Rockets-Warriors-Jalen Green Saga"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Houston Rockets will begin their playoff series versus the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> on Saturday night. Despite qualifying for the playoffs outright as the fifth seed, Rockets fans have already had a taste of the action via the Play-In tournament. That’s because of the airborne antics of former Rocket Jalen Green<\/a>\u00a0against the Golden State Warriors. Green’s new team, the Phoenix Suns, defeated the Warriors in the second round of the Play-In Tournament on Friday<\/a>. Whatever happens from here, the game represents closure for the Green era of Rockets basketball.<\/p>\n

What Jalen Green’s Warriors Rout Means To Rockets Fans<\/h2>\n

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Green was sensational against the Warriors on Friday. He shot 70% from the field, making 8\/14 three-pointers while going 6\/6 from two. He had 36 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals, three blocks, and was a +22 in 39 minutes of action. It was a superstar performance delivered on the second-biggest stage of Green’s career.<\/p>\n

The biggest stage of Green’s career? Last season’s seven-game first-round series with the Rockets. The opponent? The Golden State Warriors. Green didn’t play quite so well.<\/p>\n

For the series, Green averaged 13.3 points, on 37.2% shooting from the floor and 29.5% from three. He was almost a total no-show in six out of seven games. In the final game that ended Houston’s season at home, Green scored eight points on eight shots. It was his last game as a Rocket.<\/p>\n