Kevin Durant and the Warriors couldn’t get over the hump and face possible elimination when they return for Game 6 in Oakland on Saturday.
Defending champs backed into corner by loss in Game 5
HOUSTON — The Warriors want to come back to Houston ... more than anyone who has ever visited this lovely Texas town.
It’s not about the great BBQ or going fishing on the Gulf. They want to come back Monday to win Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. To make that return flight, of course, they’ll have to beat the Rockets in Oakland on Saturday to avoid elimination.
That’s right. The all-powerful Warriors, after dropping Game 5 to Houston 98-94 on Thursday, are one loss from a Cancun vacation. It’s hard to imagine. Just two games back in this series, Golden State looked invincible, blowing out Houston by 41.
Since then, the Rockets have risen while the Warriors have wilted. The story line has taken a
most unexpected turn.
“I think we’re in good spirits considering the situation,” said Warriors guard Stephen Curry, “how these last two games have gone down to the wire.”
“I think we’re excited about the opportunity to go home, to get ourselves back in the series, stay alive ... and then worry about Game 7. We haven’t been in this position before ... so it’s a chapter we need to figure out and finish the story.”
The latest installment in this basketball saga was a classic. After a dismal first half in which both teams took turns playing lousy, the second half turned into a classic heavyweight bout. Back and forth it went, driven by big shots and big players. Klay Thompson and Curry did what they could to rekindle the Splash Brothers success, but their efforts fell short.
It was Chris Paul and James Harden and P.J. Tucker who prevailed, willing Houston to the win with a gutty performance. They simply wouldn’t lose.
“They’re not going to let you win on points,” Houston head coach Mike D’Antoni said. “You have to knock ’em out.”
This isn’t a familiar situation for the Warriors, who consider anything short of a championship as a failure. This team hasn’t been on the brink of elimination since the NBA Finals against Cleveland in 2016. We all know how that turned out.
In the six playoff series Golden State had played since then before this one, it went 24-3, and did not have their backs against the wall.
The Warriors do now. “We know what we’re capable of. We know we can win two games,” forward Draymond Green said.
“Yeah, we’ve got another game at home, Game 6,” forward Kevin Durant said. “Still confident. We had some opportunities to win this game, last two games, and we didn’t close it out. But we can learn from it, and we’ve got another opportunity at home on Saturday. We’ll be ready to play.”
The Warriors didn’t seem ready early at Houston’s Toyota Center.
The first half of Game 5 was a study in frustration for the Warriors, at first. Houston outhustled and outmuscled Golden State, taking an 11-point lead at one point. The Warriors were simply out of sync.
After the stunning Game 4 loss, in which the Rockets held Golden State to 12 points in the fourth quarter, the Warriors’ players and coaches talked about moving the ball, making quicker decisions and imposing their will on Houston. None of that happened. Instead, the team committed eight first-half turnovers and couldn’t find any rhythm. The Warriors relied on isolation plays to Durant too much. Head coach Steve Kerr started using strange combinations, playing Quinn Cook and David West, who hadn’t seen the court in days, as he grasped for a spark.
Thompson looked lost out there, fighting the lingering effects of a left knee strain he suffered Tuesday night. He scored only seven points in the first half, going 3-for-7 from the floor, and it looked like it was going to be a long night for the Oaklanders.
Then a funny thing happened. Shots started to drop. The Warriors started getting to the line a little more. And the Rockets went cold, shooting 35.6 percent for the half.
As the half wound down, the Warriors actually tied it 45-45. It felt like they’d just found $20 on the floor. It was kind of ridiculous, really, considering how badly they played early.
For the Rockets, it must’ve felt like a punch to the gut. They should’ve been blowing out the Warriors. It appeared a great chance had been blown for Houston, a door opening for the Warriors.
The second half was some of the best basketball we’ve seen in this series. Back and forth they went, trading three-pointers and foul shots and dirty looks. Paul came to life, at one point sinking a ridiculously difficult three-pointer over Curry, then following that by imitating Curry’s signature shimmy. Curry laughed at the moment.
The fourth quarter was tensee. Either team could have won it, but the Rockets showed more poise. Paul scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half, hitting two fadeaway 30-foot threes in the process.
“I feel great about where we are right now,” Kerr said. “That may sound crazy, but I feel it. I know exactly what I’m seeing out there, and we defended them beautifully tonight. We got everything we needed.”
Everything but a return flight to Houston. They’ll have to earn that Saturday.