Rockets news: James Harden's salty response on why he lost to Warriors

Following the game, All-Star guard James Harden had a bit of a cold-shoulder response when asked why the Rockets couldn't capitalize on the Warriors' playing out of character to start the game.

The Houston Rockets with Game 7 being played on their home floor fell short to the Golden State Warriors that wraps up their season in disappointing fashion.

It was a game that saw the Rockets lead early on that pushed toward a double-digit advantage at the half that they faltered in the final two quarters. Following the game, All-Star guard James Harden had a bit of a cold-shoulder response when asked why Houston couldn't capitalize on the Warriors' playing out of character to start the game.

There is much truth to what Harden is stating. The Warriors have the advantage of possessing four All-Star on their roster, but the Rockets had plenty of opportunities to maintain their lead or at least keep up with their opponent. It was a loss that saw Houston struggle to shoot ball tremendously for significant portions of the night with much of that coming from beyond the arc hitting only 15.9 percent from distance that includes 27-straight misses in the contest.

Meanwhile, Harden had his fair share of struggles with his shot scoring 32 points on 12-of-29 shooting from the field that included hitting 2-of-13 from distance in the loss. Trevor Ariza was the perfect example of their shortcoming missing all 12 of his shots including nine coming from 3-point range. What could also be factored into the equation is the absence of All-Star point guard Chris Paul due to a grade 2 right hamstring strain, which could have also given them the lift on both ends of the floor to pull out the win.

This cold extended cold spell opened the door to the Warriors getting back into the game in the third quarter with a 33-15 advantage in the period that saw both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson heat up to combine for 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor that included going 7-of-9 from beyond the arc. Their offensive production gave Golden State the lift that they needed in order to get the separation to come out on top on the road. It may have been a salty response from Harden, but this was a deflating loss that the Rockets had the opportunity to change the outcome.