Jalen Green makes eight 3s with 38 points to help Rockets even series with 109-94 win over Warriors

HOUSTON (AP) — In his playoff debut this weekend Jalen Green admitted that playoff jitters got the best of him.

“The lights were bright, the crowd was here, the court looked huge,” he said. “So I couldn’t really get a chance to settle in. My legs was a little shaky.”

Things were much different Wednesday night.

Green made eight 3-pointers and scored 38 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 109-94 victory over the Golden State Warriors in a testy matchup to even the first-round Western Conference series at one game apiece.

“I feel like a did a good job of answering back," he said. “From the beginning my whole mindset from today was to go in and be aggressive and get back to being myself.”

The seventh-seeded Warriors never led and played short-handed for most of the night after Jimmy Butler left with a pelvis contusion after a hard fall on a foul late in the first quarter.

Green, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft, rebounded from a flop in his playoff debut, when he scored just seven points on 3-of-15 shooting, with a dominant Game 2.

His eight 3-pointers were two more than the No. 2-seeded Rockets made on 6-of-29 shooting in a 95-85 Game 1 loss.

Alperen Sengun had 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Rockets. Tari Eason had 14 points off the bench.

Coach Ime Udoka raved about the combination of Green and Sengun.

“When they’re both rolling, we’re hard to beat,” he said.

Game 2 is Saturday night at Golden State.

Stephen Curry had 20 points and nine assists for the Warriors and become the 11th player in NBA history to reach 4,000 career playoff points. He finished the night with 4,017.

“He did a great job,” coach Steve Kerr said. “We just didn’t have enough tonight.”

Houston led by 20 with about 10 minutes left before the Warriors used a 9-0 run, with two 3s from Quinten Post, run to get within 11. Jalen Green was called for a flagrant foul on Draymond Green at the end of that run after he flailed an arm into his face.

The Rockets then used an 8-0 spurt, highlighted by a step-back 3 from Green, to extend the lead to 99-80 with 5 1/2 minutes remaining. Draymond Green received a technical foul in that stretch for arguing with officials and Eason received one for throwing a towel in an “unsportsmanlike manner.”

The loss of Butler, acquired from Miami in a February trade, was a huge blow to the Warriors after he had 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the series opener.

Kerr said it's too soon to speculate about the availability of Butler for Game 3. He'll have an MRI on Thursday.

“Hopefully Jimmy will be able to play,” he said. “But if not we have to go through our options and put together a plan.”

On top of Butler’s injury, the Warriors were also hampered by Brandin Podziemski’s stomach ailment.

He missed most of the first half dealing with the problem and was scoreless in 14 minutes after scoring 14 points in Game 1.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) is escorted back to the bench by a coach and guard Buddy Hield (7) after a brief scuffle with the Houston Rockets during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets in Houston, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green yells at Houston Rockets fans from the bench after leaving the game during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets in Houston, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green (4) reacts after a basket against the Golden State Warriors during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets in Houston, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr instructs on the sideline during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets in Houston, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) reacts after he was fouled scoring a basket against the Golden State Warriors during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets in Houston, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka talks to official Courtney Kirkland after a call during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets in Houston, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski (2) tries to get control of a ball against Houston Rockets guard Aaron Holiday (0) as Warriors forward Kevon Looney (5) looks on during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets in Houston, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

Golden State Warriors' Jimmy Butler III falls towards the court after being fouled by Houston Rockets' Amen Thompson in 1st quarter of Game 2 of First Round of NBA Playoffs in Houston, Texas on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) shoots over Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets in Houston, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) defends against Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson (1) during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets in Houston, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson (1) reacts after dunking the ball against the Golden State Warriors during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets in Houston, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, center, battles for a loose ball against Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun, left, and, Rockets guard Jalen Green, right during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets in Houston, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

Golden State Warriors' Jimmy Butler III writhes in pain after injuring himself in 1st quarter against Houston Rockets in Game 2 of First Round of NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green (4) reacts after a basket against the Golden State Warriors during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets in Houston, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A day after the audacious U.S. military operation in Venezuela, President Donald Trump on Sunday renewed his calls for an American takeover of the Danish territory of Greenland for the sake of U.S. security interests, while his top diplomat declared the communist government in Cuba is “in a lot of trouble.”

The comments from Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio after the ouster of Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro underscore that the U.S. administration is serious about taking a more expansive role in the Western Hemisphere.

With thinly veiled threats, Trump is rattling hemispheric friends and foes alike, spurring a pointed question around the globe: Who's next?

“It’s so strategic right now. Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place," Trump told reporters as he flew back to Washington from his home in Florida. "We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.”

Asked during an interview with The Atlantic earlier on Sunday what the U.S.-military action in Venezuela could portend for Greenland, Trump replied: “They are going to have to view it themselves. I really don’t know.”

Trump, in his administration's National Security Strategy published last month, laid out restoring “American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere” as a central guidepost for his second go-around in the White House.

Trump has also pointed to the 19th century Monroe Doctrine, which rejects European colonialism, as well as the Roosevelt Corollary — a justification invoked by the U.S. in supporting Panama’s secession from Colombia, which helped secure the Panama Canal Zone for the U.S. — as he's made his case for an assertive approach to American neighbors and beyond.

Trump has even quipped that some now refer to the fifth U.S. president's foundational document as the “Don-roe Doctrine.”

Saturday's dead-of-night operation by U.S. forces in Caracas and Trump’s comments on Sunday heightened concerns in Denmark, which has jurisdiction over the vast mineral-rich island of Greenland.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in a statement that Trump has "no right to annex" the territory. She also reminded Trump that Denmark already provides the United States, a fellow member of NATO, broad access to Greenland through existing security agreements.

“I would therefore strongly urge the U.S. to stop threatening a historically close ally and another country and people who have made it very clear that they are not for sale,” Frederiksen said.

Denmark on Sunday also signed onto a European Union statement underscoring that “the right of the Venezuelan people to determine their future must be respected” as Trump has vowed to “run” Venezuela and pressed the acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, to get in line.

Trump on Sunday mocked Denmark’s efforts at boosting Greenland’s national security posture, saying the Danes have added “one more dog sled” to the Arctic territory’s arsenal.

Greenlanders and Danes were further rankled by a social media post following the raid by a former Trump administration official turned podcaster, Katie Miller. The post shows an illustrated map of Greenland in the colors of the Stars and Stripes accompanied by the caption: “SOON."

“And yes, we expect full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark,” Amb. Jesper Møller Sørensen, Denmark's chief envoy to Washington, said in a post responding to Miller, who is married to Trump's influential deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.

During his presidential transition and in the early months of his return to the White House, Trump repeatedly called for U.S. jurisdiction over Greenland, and has pointedly not ruled out military force to take control of the mineral-rich, strategically located Arctic island that belongs to an ally.

The issue had largely drifted out of the headlines in recent months. Then Trump put the spotlight back on Greenland less than two weeks ago when he said he would appoint Republican Gov. Jeff Landry as his special envoy to Greenland.

The Louisiana governor said in his volunteer position he would help Trump “make Greenland a part of the U.S.”

Meanwhile, concern simmered in Cuba, one of Venezuela’s most important allies and trading partners, as Rubio issued a new stern warning to the Cuban government. U.S.-Cuba relations have been hostile since the 1959 Cuban revolution.

Rubio, in an appearance on NBC's “Meet the Press,” said Cuban officials were with Maduro in Venezuela ahead of his capture.

“It was Cubans that guarded Maduro,” Rubio said. “He was not guarded by Venezuelan bodyguards. He had Cuban bodyguards.” The secretary of state added that Cuban bodyguards were also in charge of “internal intelligence” in Maduro’s government, including “who spies on who inside, to make sure there are no traitors.”

Trump said that “a lot” of Cuban guards tasked with protecting Maduro were killed in the operation. The Cuban government said in a statement read on state television on Sunday evening that 32 officers were killed in the U.S. military operation.

Trump also said that the Cuban economy, battered by years of a U.S. embargo, is in tatters and will slide further now with the ouster of Maduro, who provided the Caribbean island subsidized oil.

“It's going down,” Trump said of Cuba. “It's going down for the count.”

Cuban authorities called a rally in support of Venezuela’s government and railed against the U.S. military operation, writing in a statement: “All the nations of the region must remain alert, because the threat hangs over all of us.”

Rubio, a former Florida senator and son of Cuban immigrants, has long maintained Cuba is a dictatorship repressing its people.

“This is the Western Hemisphere. This is where we live — and we’re not going to allow the Western Hemisphere to be a base of operation for adversaries, competitors, and rivals of the United States," Rubio said.

Cubans like 55-year-old biochemical laboratory worker Bárbara Rodríguez were following developments in Venezuela. She said she worried about what she described as an “aggression against a sovereign state.”

“It can happen in any country, it can happen right here. We have always been in the crosshairs,” Rodríguez said.

AP writers Andrea Rodriguez in Havana, Cuba, and Darlene Superville traveling aboard Air Force One contributed reporting.

In this photo released by the White House, President Donald Trump monitors U.S. military operations in Venezuela, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Molly Riley/The White House via AP)