Houston Rockets reserve swing man Danuel House was noticeably absent in their thrilling 126-121 overtime victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 3.
Following the grueling showdown, Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni confirmed that House was out because due to an injured foot, per Alykhan Bijani of The Athletic.
Coach D’Antoni said Danuel House wasn’t available because his foot was “messed up.” #Rockets
— Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) May 5, 2019
House has been a key man off the bench for Houston in these 2019 playoffs. He was the Rockets' top reserve during their first round series against the Utah Jazz, averaging nearly 23 minutes through five games.
House logged in 20 minutes in Game 1, but saw his minutes dissipate in Game 2 perhaps due to the foot issue.
The former G-League standout is still an extra body the Rockets can use to give James Harden, Eric Gordon, and PJ Tucker some much needed rest at some points during their bloodbath with the defending champions. Moreover, House is more than capable of knocking down a couple of treys for the Rockets, should he get hot from long-distance.
House's status for Game 4 is still up in the air. Surely, the Rockets would prefer to have him ready on the sidelines in case they need to find a spark.
Nevertheless, the Rockets did not seem to miss the 25-year old forward out of Texas A&M in Game 3. Houston's reserves came through for them on Saturday night, particularly Iman Shumpert, who bounced back from abysmal shooting woes through the first two games of this series.
Shumpert had struggled with his shot in Games 1 and 2, going on a combined 1-of-8 from three-point range. However, he logged in valuable minutes in Game 3 and knocked down a trio of three-pointers to contribute 10 points off the bench for Houston.
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