Rodney McGruder went home for Memorial Day weekend Denzel Ward Jersey Elite , for reasons that didn’t include barbecues and beach time.
He paid tribute to people he never met.
The Miami Heat guard was part of an NBA contingent that volunteered to spend time in the Washington area with about 500 children who are part of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors – TAPS, for short – over the solemn holiday weekend, trying to help continue the support for families who lost loved ones serving in the military.
The itinerary included tours of the Pentagon, a Jr. NBA clinic, roundtable discussions, mentoring sessions, grief counseling and a trip to Arlington National Cemetery to meet some of the service members who guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier around the clock. Those guards walk 21 steps in one direction, turn and face the tomb for 21 seconds, and then walk 21 steps in the other direction and repeat the process.
”We learned so much about the 21 steps, protecting the Unknown Soldier tomb, so just being there and seeing the detail that they have at their job, much respect to them Custom Chicago Bears Jersey ,” said McGruder, whose Maryland home is only about 20 minutes from Arlington. ”It was breathtaking just seeing all the different stones. It was tough. It was tough.”
New York Knicks guard Jarrett Jack – a military kid growing up – also helped represent the NBA during the weekend events, along with Dallas assistant coach Jamahl Mosley, Sacramento assistant Bryan Gates, Portland assistant David Vanterpool and retired WNBA player Iciss Tillis. Leading the group was Gen. Martin Dempsey, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who now works as an adviser to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
”I’m very proud of the way the NBA has reached out to military servicemen and women and how that has expanded to what we’re doing here this weekend, which is outreach to the survivors of the fallen,” Dempsey said. ”It’s fantastic. What happens is we can’t take away the grief and the memory of the loss, but what we can do is layer positive memories on top of it. And so these athletes and coaches being involved, it’s amazing.”
The kids who were part of the weekend played in a basketball clinic, but most of the questions to the NBA players and coaches had nothing to do with the game.
McGruder said many wanted to know how he’s dealt with loss – not on the basketball court – and how he copes.
”You realize right away that these kids are going through some pretty tough things,” McGruder said. ”One of the toughest questions came from a tough female who wanted to know if I’ve gone through something like that. I explained to her that my mother lost her mother very young Sean Lee Jersey Elite , so it’s not really the same but you share how you’ve been through similar disadvantages.”
McGruder said he came away with a deeper appreciation of what Memorial Day means, and Dempsey – a lifelong fan of the game and someone who Mike Krzyzewski used during his tenure as coach of the U.S. national team to teach the game’s biggest stars about what it means to represent the country – thinks the NBA players have an important message for kids on weekends like this.
”I think with the country kind of more connected technologically than ever before, but maybe pulling itself apart more than ever before, I think sports have a huge role to play to bring a bit of leadership and maybe conscience,” Dempsey said. ”I’m proud to be part of that.”
The Houston Rockets were the best team in the NBA in the regular season.
They played like it Wednesday night, using a balanced scoring attack to rout the Golden State Warriors 127-105 and even the Western Conference finals at one game apiece.
James Harden and Eric Gordon each scored 27 points on a night Houston had five players score 16 points or more.
”We can beat anybody, anywhere at any time playing the way we play,” coach Mike D’Antoni said.
The Rockets didn’t trail after the first quarter and led by double digits for most of the night. They head to Oakland, California for Game 3 on Sunday night feeling much better after rebounding from a deflating 119-106 loss in the series opener.
P.J. Tucker added a playoff career-high 22 and Trevor Ariza had 19 as both bounced back after struggling in Game 1. Tucker had just one point in that game and Ariza scored eight, but was limited on defense after collecting his fifth foul early in the third quarter.
”I never worry about my offense … it’s all on defense,” Tucker said. ”If we get stops we’ll be able to run. It changes the game and it changes the way we play and we know that.”
Kevin Durant had 38 points after scoring 37 in the opener, but Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined for just 24 points after the pair went for 46 in Game 1.
Houston wasn’t able to slow down Durant Ty Montgomery Jersey Youth , but did a much better job of limiting open 3-pointers by Thompson and Curry, and the two made just 3 of 12 attempts.
”They were desperate tonight and played like it, and we weren’t and it showed,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said.
The Warriors made three free throws to get within 11 early in the fourth quarter before the Rockets scored the next 11 points, with 3s from Gordon, Tucker and Harden to make it 111-89 with about 6 1/2 minutes to play.
Durant made a basket after that, but Houston scored the next eight points to extend the lead to 119-91 with about five minutes left.
The Warriors got frustrated in that stretch, with Durant getting a technical for shoving Harden in the back and Draymond Green pushing Ariza out of bounds seconds later. It was then that Kerr sent all of his starters to the bench for good.
Gordon came off the bench to make six 3-pointers, Tucker tied a playoff best with five and Harden added three.
”They were more settled tonight and they hit timely shots,” Durant said. ”The first quarter was still the most important part of the game. Eric Gordon hit two big 3s and that kind of settled them in. Those shots did it for them.”
Houston avoided losing consecutive games for the first time this postseason and the Warriors lost in the second game of a playoff series for the first time since the 2015 NBA Finals, snapping a 10-game winning streak in such games.
”We got outplayed the whole game … we got it handed to us,” Kerr said. ”You can look at it any way you want … and parcel it out Authentic Jordan Howard Jersey , but it didn’t matter who we had out there tonight we got beat.”
Houston led by as many as 19 in the first half and was up 64-50 at halftime. The Warriors cut it to 74-64 with five quick points from Durant, but the Rockets opened it back up to 89-72 when Gordon made an off-balance layup before crashing to the court while being fouled and made the free throw.
The Rockets were up by 16 to start the fourth quarter but Golden State got within 98-86 with about 10 minutes left. Curry had five points in that span, including his first 3 after missing his first six attempts of the night.
Curry finished with 16 points and Thompson was 3 for 11 for his eight points.
TIP-INS
Warriors: It was Durant’s 19th straight playoff game with at least 20 points. … Curry made one 3-pointer to extend his NBA playoff record of 81 straight playoff games with at least one 3-pointer. … Durant and Curry were Golden State’s only players with more than 10 points.
Rockets: Houston improved to 8-0 this postseason when leading after three quarters. … Houston made 16 of 42 3-point attempts. … Paul finished with 16 points.
A LITTLE SHORT
Grammy Award-winning rapper Lil’ Wayne took the Rockets’ first shot for charity before the game. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the 5-foot-5 Wayne’s shot was a little short. The New Orleans native, who has attended several playoff games in Houston this postseason, still received a loud ovation from the crowd.
THEY SAID IT
Curry on Durant: ”He’s been amazing. He’s making plays. He’s just aggressive and I think we all need to feed off that, the focus and determination.”
UP NEXT
After Game 3, the teams will play Game 4 on Tuesday night in Oakland before returning to Houston for Game 5 on Thursday.
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