In a game that wound up being decided by three points, just about every individual possession was crucial. And each bucket Podziemski, Hield or even Quinten Post (who added two triples of his own) hit felt like momentum shifters (or intensifiers).

But Houston cannot afford to let bench players Gary Payton II and Buddy Hield make major impacts. Payton finished with a postseason career-high 16 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, and Hield was 5-for-11 on 3-point attempts to help finish with 17 points in 29 minutes.