Rockets foiled by poor shooting in Game 1 loss to Warriors in playoffs

HOUSTON (AP) — While Steph Curry was hitting circus shots for the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night, Fred VanVleet and the Houston Rockets couldn’t seem to get much of anything to go in — even wide-open looks.

VanVleet and Jalen Green made just 7 of 34 shots in Houston’s 95-85 loss to Golden State in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series Sunday night.

VanVleet was 2 for 13 from 3-point range on a night Houston made just 6 of 29 3-pointers and was 11 for 20 on free throws.

“It was an offensively poor showing,” coach Ime Udoka said. “The defense was good enough but we’re not going to overreact to that game. It was some of those guys first time and we had our chances.”

The second-seeded Rockets, who returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2020, had three players in their starting lineup and two reserves making their playoff debuts Sunday. Of those young players in the postseason for the first time, the only one to play well was Alperen Sengun, who led the team with 26 points and nine rebounds.

Despite the poor shooting, Houston managed to get within four points with about 2 1/2 minutes left on a 3 by VanVleet. But he missed two 3s after that and Warriors went on a run to close it out.

“We can generate better looks,” VanVleet said. “I think our spacing can get better. We can make more shots, obviously, myself included — didn’t shoot the ball great tonight.”

The Rockets managed to keep it close late thanks in part to their offensive rebounding where they had a 22-6 advantage. They’re encouraged that they were able to get within striking distance late after falling behind by 23 in the third quarter.

“We’ve just got to clean some things up on the offensive end and it’s definitely encouraging knowing that we were still in the game despite being down that much,” Jabari Smith said. “We stayed together and showed some growth tonight.”

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Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks (9) shoots against Golden State Warriors guard Buddy Hield (7) during the first half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series in Houston, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Golden State Warriors' Moses Moody (4) defends against Houston Rockets' Jalen Green (4) during the second half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series in Houston, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green, right, fouls Houston Rockets' Dillon Brooks in the second half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series in Houston Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) defends against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the second half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series in Houston, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Houston Rockets forward Amen Thompson (1) takes control of the ball from Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III (10) during the second half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series in Houston, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. (10) celebrates with center Alperen Sengun (28) after making a shot during the second half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors in Houston, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

DENVER (AP) — A soldier present at an after-hours nightclub where more than 100 immigrants suspected of being in the U.S. illegally were taken into custody last weekend has been charged with distributing cocaine, court records show.

Staff Sgt. Juan Gabriel Orona-Rodriguez, who is assigned to Fort Carson, an Army post near the illegal club in Colorado Springs, was arrested Wednesday evening, the FBI said in a statement.

Orona-Rodriquez has been charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, according to an arrest affidavit. It said he allegedly sold cocaine to an undercover agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration days before the raid.

It wasn't immediately known if Orona-Rodriguez — a member of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team in the 4th Infantry Division — had a lawyer ahead of an expected court appearance Thursday.

The FBI said the arrest followed an investigation by the DEA, the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division and officials at Fort Carson.

More than 300 law enforcement officers and officials from multiple agencies participated in Sunday’s operation at the nightclub, which had been under investigation for months for alleged activities including drug trafficking, prostitution and “crimes of violence,” said Jonathan Pullen, special agent in charge of the DEA’s Rocky Mountain Division.

Cocaine was among the drugs found, Pullen said at a news conference.

Orona-Rodriquez was one of about 17 active-duty U.S. Army service members who were at the club, known as Warike, when it was raided early Sunday, the affidavit said.

He appears to have held a leadership role in a business that provides armed security at nightclubs, including at Warike, according to the document. However, it did not say whether he was working security there at the time of the raid. It notes that he had been warned by his commanding officer this spring that he could not work for the security company.

Rodriguez received more than a dozen Army awards during his almost nine years in service, including an Army Commendation Medal with combat device, which is earned during a deployment where the soldier was “performing meritoriously under the most arduous combat conditions,” according to Army descriptions of the award.

Of the 17 soldiers who were at the venue at the time of the raid, 16 were patrons and one was working there in a security role, a U.S. official said on the condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public. Sixteen of the soldiers there were assigned to Fort Carson, the official did not know where the seventeenth was assigned.

Investigators suspect Orona-Rodriguez was getting cocaine from an unidentified Mexican citizen who is “unlawfully present in the United States without admission,” according to the affidavit.

President Donald Trump posted a link to the DEA video of the raid on his social media site, Truth Social. “A big Raid last night on some of the worst people illegally in our Country — Drug Dealers, Murderers, and other Violent Criminals, of all shapes and sizes,” the president wrote.

Associated Press writer Tara Copp in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

In this image taken from video released by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, officers stop a patron from a nightclub where a raid occurred Sunday, April 27, 2025, in Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration via AP)

In this image taken from video released by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, a law enforcement officer with a weapon drawn is shown at a nightclub where a raid occurred Sunday, April 27, 2025, in Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration via AP)