Warriors down Houston to set up 4th straight Finals vs. Cleveland
HOUSTON — Stephen Curry and Golden State turned all those Houston bricks into a road back to the NBA Finals.
Needing not only all their firepower but also 27 straight misses by the Rockets during an epic cold streak from 3-point range, the Warriors rallied to keep alive their hopes for a repeat.
Kevin Durant scored 34 points, Curry sparked another third-quarter turnaround, and the Warriors earned a fourth straight trip to the NBA Finals by defeating the Rockets 101-92 in Game 7 of the Western Conference final on Monday night.
The defending champions trailed by as many as 15 in the first half after falling behind 17 in Game 6.
“We know we can make an 11-point lead evaporate with two minutes of good basketball,” Klay Thompson said.
Curry, who finished with 27 points, scored 14 of Golden State’s 33 points in the third quarter as Houston’s shooting didn’t just go cold — it froze. The Rockets missed all 14 of their 3-point attempts in that quarter as part of a 1-for-21 second half from long range.
Curry said someone asked him after the victory if it’s still special to get to the finals when it’s the fourth time in a row. “Yes,” he said, “because it’s really hard.” The Warriors will host LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 on Thursday in the fourth straight matchup between the teams.
James Harden had 32 points as the topseeded Rockets’ bid to return to the finals for the first time since 1995 fell short without Chris Paul, who was nursing a hamstring injury.
“We just didn’t have that extra juice that we needed,” Harden said.
The Rockets fell apart in the second half again after doing so in Game 6. The Warriors outscored Houston 122-63 in the second half of the final two games.
“It’s amazing how long the NBA game is,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Fortyeight minutes, it lasts a long time and there’s so many opportunities to get yourself going as a team. And with our team, there’s just so much firepower that at some point, we’re going to get going.”
Golden State’s Draymond Green chipped in with 10 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.
The Rockets finished 7-of-44 on 3-pointers, with Trevor Ariza missing all nine of his attempts, Eric Gordon going 2-for-12 and Harden making just 2-of-13.
Houston was behind by 13 following a 3-pointer by Curry and had missed 27 straight 3-pointers when P.J. Tucker finally hit one from the corner to cut the lead to 89-79 midway through the quarter.
It was their first 3-pointer since one by Gordon with about 6 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter that put the Rockets up 42-28 during a woeful Warriors start.
“We were lucky to escape out of here,” Kerr said.
Tucker’s 3-pointer was the first of seven straight points for Houston, which cut the lead to 89-83.
But Durant scored six points in a 9-2 spurt after that, which left the Warriors ahead 97-85 with about three minutes to go.
Houston finally found a little offence after that, using a 7-2 run to cut it to 99-92, but its rally came up short.
Thompson added 19 points for Golden State after scoring 35 in the Game 6 win, and the Warriors got a fourth straight start from Kevon Looney with Andre Iguodala sitting out again with a bone bruise on his left leg.
After being down by 10 at halftime of Game 6, the Warriors trailed by 11 entering the third quarter on Monday night.
Golden State opened the third quarter with a 10-4 run to cut the lead to 58-53 after a 3-pointer by Nick Young with about eight minutes left in the quarter.
Tucker made 1-of-2 free throws and the teams exchanged layups before Golden State scored nine straight points, with two 3s from Curry, to take a 64-61 lead.
Harden made two free throws before Curry scored eight points in a row, highlighted by a 3-pointer which bounced high off the rim before falling back in, to make it 72-63 with just over two minutes left in the quarter.
Golden State scored 33 points in the third quarter for the second straight game, while Houston managed just 15 points on Monday night after it scored 16 in the third in Game 6.
Houston fell to 6-5 all-time in Game 7s and 4-2 at home.