Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey knew that the Golden State Warriors had the better of them in Game 2 of their Western Conference Semifinal matchup on Tuesday night. As a matter of fact, the high-ranking Houston executive was not ashamed to admit that the Warriors kicked their butts:

“Game 2 was tough,” Morey told Sam Amick of The Athletic by phone. “They outplayed us. We got our ass kicked, and we’re going to have to come back in Game 3. We’re excited for Saturday. As Mike would say, it’s pretty close to a must-win.’ He always says, ‘Well, the only must win is if you’re actually eliminated.’”

Morey went on to acknowledge that a loss in Game 3 would pretty much spell disaster for Houston and its season:

“But given the history of teams that go down (3-0 in a seven-game series), it’s not (good),” he added. “Someone’s going to come back from that someday, but I would prefer that we don’t challenge that one or see if we can do it.”

The officiating was a big point of contention after Game 1. However, Morey thought Game 2 had no officiating problems, and the outcome was simply a matter of the Warriors taking it to the Rockets:

“Game 2 was a very well officiated game, and like I said (before), they just kicked our ass,” he said. “The game was actually not as close as the score. They beat us real good, and we have to respond in a much better way.”

Game 4 in Houston will take place on Saturday, and as Morey implied, a loss for the Rockets would almost certainly lead to a second-round exit for their side.