Rockets to meet Warriors in conference final
NEW YORK: Chris Paul scored a postseason careerhigh 41 points, and PJ Tucker chipped in 19 as the Houston Rockets defeated the visiting Utah Jazz 112102 yesterday to claim their Western Conference semifinal series in five games.
Paul, who scored 20 points in the fourth quarter, totalled seven rebounds with 10 assists and no turnovers in the clinching victory. He connected on eight threepoint attempts and teamed with Tucker to put down the Jazz for good, scoring 13 consecutive points before feeding Tucker for a corner threepointer that pushed Houston’s lead to 110100 with 35 seconds left.
Tucker finished five of seven from behind the arc.
‘‘We knew what was at stake,’’ Harden said during a TNT postgame interview. ‘‘We didn’t want to go back to Utah.’’
The Rockets advance to the Western Conference finals for the first time in four seasons where they will meet the Golden State Warriors. Paul will do so for the first time in his stellar 13year career after 86 postseason games played.
Kevin Durant had three hoops while teammate Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry added one apiece in a 10point flurry that opened the second half and broke open a close game yesterday lifting the Golden State Warriors to a 113104 triumph over the New Orleans Pelicans in Oakland, and a 41 victory in their Western Conference semifinal series.
Curry had 28 points, Durant 24 and Thompson 23 for the Warriors, whose 15th straight home playoff win tied the NBA record set by the Chicago Bulls in 199091.
Anthony Davis had his fifth doubledouble in the series with 34 points and 19 rebounds for the Pelicans.
The Warriors led just 5956 at halftime before hitting their first five shots of the third quarter to extend the margin to 13.