Rockets blaze past Warriors to edge closer to NBA Finals
LOS ANGELES: The Houston Rockets clawed out a 98-94 victory over the reigning champion Golden State Warriors to move within one win of reaching the NBA Finals.
The Rockets, who led the league with 65 regular-season wins, took a 3-2 lead in the best- of- seven Western Conference finals and with one more victory can deny the Warriors a fourth straight trip to the championship series.
“For us nothing changes,” Rockets star James Harden said of Houston’s mindset on the brink of the club’s first trip to the Finals since winning back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995.
“We just take it game by game, position by position, try to compete our butts off and give ourselves the best chance.”
Golden State, whose streak of 16 straight home playoff wins was halted by the Rockets on Tuesday, will try to fend off elimination when they host game six today.
“I feel great about where we are right now,” insisted Warriors coach Steve Kerr.
“That may sound crazy but I feel it. I know exactly what I’m seeing out there and we defended them beautifully tonight.”
The winner of the series will face either the Cleveland Cavaliers or Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals starting on May 31.
The Cavaliers, who have played the Warriors in each of the last three title series, trail the Celtics 3-2 in the Eastern Conference finals.