IN SPORTS: WARRIORS HEADED TO NBA FINALS
HOUSTON — The Warriors are headed to the NBA finals for the fourth consecutive year, where they'll meet for the fourth consecutive year LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Game 1 is Thursday in Oakland, Calif. Down 15 points early against an undermanned Houston team, the Warriors turned to their thirdquarter formula to beat the Rockets 101-92 in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals.
The Warriors outscored the Rockets 33-16 in the third quarter to turn a 54-43 halftime deficit into a 76-69 lead heading into the fourth quarter. It was the largest halftime deficit ever overcome in Game 7 by a road team.
Kevin Durant scored 34 points, 21 in the second half. Stephen Curry had 27, after ending the half with eight. Klay Thompson picked up three fouls in the first quarter, but still finished with 19 points. Draymond Green had 13 rebounds and 10 points.
The Rockets played without Chris Paul, their fiery leader, who missed his second consecutive game because of a right hamstring injury.
That left Houston's hopes largely in the hands of James Harden and a cast of five others as Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni refused to go deep into his bench this series. It worked for a while. With hustle and 3-point shooting, the Rockets raced out to the lead and kept adding to it as the home crowd roared.
It was 48-33 after Harden threw down a massive dunk with 4:54 to play in the half.
But, as was the case in Game 6 when the Rockets led by 17, they ran out of gas. They missed 27 consecutive shots from the 3-point and finished seven for 44 from distance, setting an NBA record for misses in one game.
Harden, who needed 29 shots to get 32 points, was 2 for 13 beyond the arc. Eric Gordon (23 points) was 2 for 12.