Who has more pressure to take game 3?

Well, the Rockets strike back and tie the series at one apiece. After losing home court in game one and essentially having their season on the line the team came out ready to rumble. They played a better game all throughout.  Their defense was much better as the Warriors got far less open shots. the Rockets were just hustling for anything and everything, it showed that they were playing with a sense of urgency. A lot of things changed and played into them winning game two.

After losing in game one Mike Dantoni said they would not change their play style as it is what they do best and what got them there. While they did not exactly change their play style by moving the ball around they did modify it. There was an emphasis on getting more people involved. More people touched the ball, feeling a part of the offense and that fed into the defense. In game one the Rockets had 18 assists to 23 in game two. It showed there was a larger importance of moving the ball. In game one the Rockets only had 8 assists made by someone other than Paul or Harden and that increased to 14 in game two. This stat clearly showed they involved more people.

The Rockets got a huge boost from Tucker and Gordon. Both players came alive in game two combining for 49 points and 11 made threes on a ridiculous percentage. PJ Tucker went an amazing 5-6. While it is very difficult to see that occurring again the Rockets evened up the series without a stellar game from Harden or Paul. The Rockets should take this win and aim to take a road game to make it a best of three series with them having two games on their home floor.  

According to the Warriors, they are a little worried. The Rockets punked them in game two and they could not do anything about it. Remember this is the first time in their championship run history that they are not going to have 5 or 7 at home. Also, this is the first time since having KD that they were unable to get a 2-0 series lead. So this is uncharted waters for them. Their offensive engine in Stephen Curry just looks flat as in game two 7-19 from the field and an atrocious 1-8 from 3. That is his worst ever shooting from three in his playoff career. He just looks tired as the Rockets attack him every trip down. The Rockets targeted Curry for a record-setting 25 times in game two. It seems as if that just tires him out and he does not have his legs under him on the other side. Repeatedly being asked to guard James Harden and Chris Paul every trip down can take a toll on your body and especially when you are just returning from injury not a long time ago.
No one showed up for the Warriors except Kevin Durant. That meant that KD was isolating a whole lot and the ball was not moving around the perimeter leading to wide open looks for the rest of the guys. This plays into the Rockets hands as the Warriors become very easy to defend when in iso basketball.

Now looking ahead to game three which team will have the pressure on them. This is an opportunity to take a 2-1 lead, and history shows more than 60% of teams with a 2-1 lead go on to take the series. Well, I think the pressure is on the Warriors. They have never trailed in a series since Durant has joined them. They are on the road and that could lead to some scary scenerios if they fail to win game three. The Rockets just need to win one game out of these next two. The pressure is on the Dubs and specifically Curry to respond and step up to the challenge.