The set-up: The Houston Rockets allowed 126 points on 52.2 percent shooting in a 41-point loss in Game 3 but came out with a renewed passion on the defensive end in Game 4, evidenced by the team's play in the fourth quarter. Houston was staring at a 10-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter and if the Rockets couldn't get things turned around in the final 12 minutes. they would be returning home for Game in a 3-1 series hole. However, the fourth quarter of Game 4 provided a prime example of Houston's "renewed passion on the defensive end." The Warriors claimed their largest lead of the contest at 82-70 when Stephen Curry assisted on a Shaun Livingston dunk at the 10:45 mark. That play produced the 14th and final assist of the evening for Golden State. The Rockets would go on to hold the Warriors to 12 points in the fourth quarter (Golden State missed its final five FG attempts) to earn a 95-92 victory. "How we defend, how we pay attention to detail and how we go about playing defense. Tonight, in the fourth quarter when it mattered, we got stops. It let us get back in the game, it let us take the lead and it let us win." Meanwhile, Golden State head coach Steve Kerr blamed fatigue for his team's poor fourth-quarter performance but conceded that the Rockets were the better team down the stretch. "I felt like in the fourth quarter we just ran out of gas," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "Scored 12 points. Tried to buy a little rest for our guys, but yeah, they just outplayed us in the fourth and they earned it."

Golden State: The Warriors held Houston to 39 percent shooting in Game 4 but still couldn't win. Golden State shot only 39.3% in the loss and while Curry had 28 points and KD added 27 & 12, Klay Thompson was held to just 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting. He now owns an average of 10.3 points over the last three games after going off for 28 in Game 1. Andre Iguodala (leg) sat out Game 4 and is questionable for Thursday. Golden State "went big" by replacing him in the starting lineup with the 6-9 Looney, who did little (four points on 2 of 6 shooting in 26 minutes). What's more, the Golden State bench contributed a modest 12 points.

Houston: The Game 4 win returns the homecourt edge to Houston, which needs two wins over the next three games to knock the Warriors off their three-year reign as Western Conference champs. PG Chris Paul battled a foot injury in Game 4 but turned in his best scoring effort of the series with 27 points on 10-of-20 shooting. Harden led the way with 30 points, despite making only 3 of 12 three pointers.

The pick: Golden State (No. 1) and Houston (No. 20 are the two-best offensive teams in the NBA but "get there" in very different ways. The Warriors paced the NBA in assist percentage (68.5) during the regular season, while conversely, the Rockets ranked 22nd at 55.7 percent, relying mostly on the isolation brilliance of James Harden and Chris Paul. I expect Golden State to bounce back in a big way but I also expect Houston's complimentary players Ariza, Tucker and Gordon to bounce back at home, as well. Eric Gordon scored 27 points in the last game played in Houston (Game 2) but went 3-of-16 from three-point range over the last two games. Ariza and Tucker combined 41 points in making 15 of 18 shots in Game 2 but then totaled only 25 points (on 6 of 19 shooting) in Games 3 and 4 in Oakland. Make the Over a 10* play.