LONG TIME COMING
Warriors earn first NBA Finals berth in 40 years by beating Rockets for conference title
This story was originally published on May 27, 2015.
OAKLAND >> After 40 years of suffering and waiting, the Warriors are back in the NBA Finals.
Confetti rained down on Oracle Arena after they became Western Conference champions, having defeated the Houston Rockets 104-90 on Wednesday to claim a 4-1 semifinal series victory.
Yet in the locker room, there wasn’t much celebrating.
“We’re not satisfied at all,” Draymond Green explained.
“It’ll be way different if we get four more wins.”
The Warriors, who will face LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, punched their ticket after Stephen Curry scored 26 points and Harrison Barnes poured it on in the fourth quarter to finish with 24 points.
Curry came through after suffering a head contusion in his previous game, and did so while sore and wearing a protective shooting sleeve. Klay Thompson added 20 points before getting kneed in the head. After the game he was experiencing concussion-like symptoms.
“We’re four wins away from the goal,” Curry told the crowd at Oracle Arena, which cheered so loudly that his words could hardly be heard.
“Hey, why not us?”
The Warriors, who went to the postseason in only three of the previous 20 seasons before hiring rookie coach Steve Kerr, will host Game 1 of the NBA Finals on June 4. Kerr is back after winning five NBA championships as a player.
“It’s maybe even more rewarding, because you feel responsible for a lot of people’s welfare and happiness,” Kerr said.
“They’re an incredible group, and it’s extremely gratifying to be a part of it.”
Rockets guard James Harden was held to 14 points on 2-for11 shooting and suffered the indignity of committing an NBA playoff-record 13 turnovers, a number the MVP runner-up said was “unacceptable.” Dwight Howard led the Rockets with 18 points and 16 rebounds, but they shot only 35.1 percent from the field.
“We’re a jump-shooting team that didn’t shoot well,” Green said, jabbing those who had labeled the Warriors as such, after a game they won while shooting 40.7 percent. “We’re actually pretty good on the defensive end, too.”
Barnes noted that late in the game he was playing alongside Green and Festus Ezeli, who had 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench. All three were products of a 2012 draft class that has made three straight playoff appearances.
Barnes scored nine straight Warriors points on a jumper, 3-pointer, runner and dunk to give his team an 87-72 lead with 7:10 left.
The outburst came immediately after the Warriors saw Thompson leave for the locker room bleeding from an ear laceration after getting kneed in the head by the Rockets’ Trevor Ariza.
When the Rockets cut the Warriors’ lead to eight points with 4:19 left, Barnes hit two free throws and ran the floor for another dunk.
The Warriors led 74-65 after a 7-0 run capped off by Curry’s 3-pointer and a dunk from Andre Iguodala, who had stolen the ball for Harden’s 11th turnover that tied the NBA playoff record. The assist came from Green, who started the game 1 for 10 from the field but contributed on the defensive end as well.
“To get to the Finals, first time in 40 years for the Warriors, it’s more than relief,” Kerr said. “It’s joy.
“I’m happy for everybody, especially our fans. Forty years is a long time.”
Jason Terry scored seven straight Rockets points before the Warriors’ run.
Thompson scored the first five points of the second half to push the Warriors’ lead to 57-46. But he would soon be forced to the bench after committing his fourth and fifth fouls only 22 seconds apart. The Rockets responded with an 8-0 run capped off by Ariza’s steal in the backcourt and 3-point play.
The Warriors led 52-46 at halftime, with Barnes and Curry hitting backto-back 3-pointers to push their first-half lead to as many as eight points.
Harden was held to 11 points while committing eight turnovers in the half, as Andre Iguodala came off the bench to guard him.
Thompson caught fire in the second quarter, hitting three 3-pointers in a row to spark a 13-2 run that gave the Warriors a 30-24 lead. He hit his sixth shot in a row with a dunk in transition off a missed Harden 3-point attempt and Curry’s rebound and quick pass.
The Rockets led 22-17 after the first quarter as the Warriors got off to another slow start, committing six turnovers and going 1 for 8 from 3-point range.
Howard in the quarter collected eight points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. Andrew Bogut also committed two of his fouls and had to take a seat on the bench.
The Warriors started the game 1 for 9 from the field as the Rockets jumped out to an 8-2 lead.
Bouncing back, the Warriors took back the lead after Curry stole the ball from Harden and Thompson made a reverse layup in transition to give them a 10-9 lead.
Harden hit all seven of his free throws in the quarter, stretching out the Rockets’ lead to 20-12.
ON THIS DATE
1873: First running of the Preakness Stakes.
1937: Giants pitcher Carl Hubbell wins his 24th straight decision, a streak dating to July of the previous season.
1955: Norm Zauchin of the Boston Red Sox has 10 RBIs (and three HRs) in the first five innings of a 16-0 victory over Washington.
1968: “Papa Bear” George Halas retires as head coach of the Chicago Bears with 318 regular-season wins and six NFL titles.
1968: Montreal and San Diego are awarded National League franchises.
1968: Frank Thomas, Hall of Fame first baseman (clean) and pitcher of male enhancement products, is born in Columbus, Ga.
1968: Jeff Bagwell, Hall of Fame first baseman (clean?), is born in Boston, Mass.
1975: Heavyweight boxing champ Ezzard Charles dies of ALS at 53. 1975: Philadelphia Flyers win their second straight Stanley Cup, and goaltender Bernie Parent becomes the first back-to-back winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy and only the second player, after Bobby Orr, to win it twice.
1981: Willie (later known as Bill) Shoemaker wins his 8,000th race.
1981: Julius Erving of the Philadelphia 76ers is named the NBAs Most Valuable Player, making him the only player to win MVP honors in both the NBA and the ABA.
1984: Rick Mears wins the Indianapolis 500 by two laps, the largest margin in 17 years, with a record-setting 163.612 mph.
1990: Arie Luyendyk, whose son would overshadow him years later as The Bachelor, becomes the first driver ever to finish the Indy 500 in under three hours.
1994: Stephane Matteau, who later would play five seasons with the Sharks, scored in the second overtime of Game 7 to send the New York Rangers into the Stanley Cup Final with a 2-1 victory over New Jersey.
1998: In one of the biggest upsets in Grand Slam history, Pete Sampras is ousted at the French Open by 21-yearold Ramon Delgado of Paraguay, ranked 97th in the world.
2000: Hockey Hall of Famer Maurice “Rocket” Richard dies of abdominal cancer and Parkinson’s disease at 78.
2011: Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki loses in the third round of the French Open — No. 2 seed Kim Clijsters has lost the previous day — marking the first time in the Open era that the top two seeds failed to make the round of 16 at a Grand Slam tournament.
2011: Margo Dydek, at 7-foot-2 the tallest player in WNBA history, dies at 37 of cardiac arrest, leaving behind a husband and two children.
2014: The University of WisconsinWhitewater becomes the only school in NCAA history to win championships in football, men’s basketball and baseball in the same school year. Go Warhawks!
2019: Vallejo native Bill Buckner, the pride of Napa High and a great man, dies of dementia at 69.