About the Project » and the go-ahead run

The Rockets have reason to feel good http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-arden-key-jersey , tied with Golden State after winning Game 2 in a rout in the Western Conference finals.

But a big challenge awaits Sunday at Oracle Arena, where the Warriors have won an NBA-record tying 15 straight playoff games.

Houston coach Mike D’Antoni knows all about Golden State’s success in Oakland, but thinks it has less to do with being at home than the fact that the Warriors are a great team.

”The challenge is you’re playing Golden State. That’s why they’ve won 15 in a row. Not because of the building, but because they’re good,” he said. ”All these players are used to playing in hostile environments … it helps a little bit (but) sometimes you feed off the energy also from the other crowd. So you try to take them out as soon as you can and take out the crowd.”

The Rockets aren’t daunted by Golden State’s winning streak there and are looking forward to the challenge.

”It’s definitely a great place to play,” Trevor Ariza said. ”Their fans are great. They bring a lot of energy to the game. At this point there’s nothing like playing in that type of environment and trying to silence them.”

Ariza was one of the keys to Houston’s 127-105 win in Game 2 that helped erase the memory of Houston’s tough home loss in the series opener. Ariza had 19 points as one of five Rockets who scored more than 16 points to rebound after an ineffective performance in Game 1 because of foul trouble.

While the Rockets know what happened in Game 2 won’t matter if they don’t take care of business on Sunday night, they do believe it gives them a bit of momentum.

”Yeah, just because we know we’re more than capable of it,” James Harden said. ”We’ve just got to go out there and do it every possession.”

Houston’s 127 points were the most the team has scored this postseason. But they’re quick to point out that their success on offense was the product of solid defense. That, they say Cheap Harold Landry Jersey , is the reason it won’t be difficult to recreate what they did in Game 2 on Sunday night.

”It wasn’t anything special that we did,” Harden said. ”We just created more opportunities with our defense.”

Sunday will be just Houston’s second game at Golden State this season and first since the Rockets got a 122-121 win on Oct. 17 in the opener for both teams on the night the Warriors received their championship rings.

”A lot has been going on since then,” Harden said. ”But as long as we take those same principles and that mindset that we have, no matter where we play, we’ll be pretty good.”

Kevin Durant has scored 75 points combined in the first two games to lead the Warriors, but Stephen Curry hasn’t really gotten going yet as he rounds into form after missing almost two months with a knee injury. The Rockets know the 2015 and 2016 Most Valuable Player is capable of having a huge game at any time and they must account for him at all times, just as they do with Durant and Klay Thompson.

”I just think everybody on their team can shoot,” Ariza said. ”When they’re in a scoring position, you just have to give some sort of resistance. Try to make them think about doing other things.”

The Warriors have much more experience at this level of the postseason with this being their franchise-record fourth straight trip to the conference finals. But Houston has plenty of veteran leadership led by nine-time All-Star Chris Paul, who said it’s easy to look forward regardless of how the last game went.

”It feels like Game 2 was a week ago now Seahawks D.J. Fluker Jersey ,” he said. ”That’s how it is in the playoffs … we’ve done a great job all year staying even-keeled. We tried not to get too high or too low.”

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Luke Weaver’s best start of the season came last month against the Philadelphia Phillies. Weaver will try to emulate that success Tuesday night as the Phillies face the St. Louis Cardinals in the middle of a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park.

The 24-year-old Weaver (4-6, 4.52 ERA) allowed just one run and four hits and notched six strikeouts in seven innings against the Phillies on May 17. Weaver has gone seven innings in just one of his 13 other starts this season.

Weaver, who has a 3.00 ERA and 1.167 WHIP in two career starts against Philadelphia, struggled in both of his last two appearances. He allowed eight runs, 16 hits and six walks in the two outings (10 1/3 innings), including four runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings of his last game against the San Diego Padres.

“He used everything. Thought he had a real nice changeup, he was smart with the breaking ball,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of Weaver after his last start. “But that last inning, there were a lot of hard hit balls.”

Weaver has lost four straight decisions, a streak that dates to his previous start against the Phillies.

Vince Velasquez Kerryon Johnson Jersey Elite , who will oppose Weaver again on Tuesday, picked up the win in that game last month.

Velasquez (5-7, 4.74) held the Cardinals scoreless for 6 1/3 innings and struck out five in a 6-2 Phillies win. He had a 6.30 ERA in four starts after that game, but the hard-throwing right-hander was dominant the last time he was on the mound.

Facing the Colorado Rockies last Thursday, Velasquez carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning. He gave up just one hit and two runs before exiting after 6 2/3 innings and 105 pitches.

“I thought that was as confident as I’ve ever seen him,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler told MLB.com about Velasquez. “But most notably for me was how comfortable he looked in his own skin today. It was a breath of fresh air, and I think when things aren’t going that smoothly for him, if he can maintain that composure, maintain that easiness and maintain that confidence, that’s when he’s going to reach his true potential.”

Velasquez is 1-1 with a 3.65 ERA and 1.297 WHIP in two career starts against St. Louis.

The Phillies are going for their fourth straight win after getting an unlikely walk-off victory in the 10th inning Monday night. Aaron Altherr hit a game-winning Connor Williams Jersey Elite , two-run double that bounced past a diving Marcell Ozuna in left field.

Philadelphia’s 6-5 win came after its bullpen gave up two runs with two outs in the ninth inning and the go-ahead run on a Tommy Pham homer in the 10th.

“They came back in the ninth against us, but we still thought we could win this game,” Altherr told NBC Sports Philadelphia after his heroics. “It shows how resilient this team is. We never give up and always fight.”

The Cardinals, meanwhile, have dropped six of their last eight games.
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