THE GOLDEN STATE Warriors fought back to force game seven against the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference finals with an easy 115-86 win on Saturday.
No-one could have predicted the outcome when Houston went up 39-22 after one quarter.
James Harden, who finished with 32 points, and the rest of the Rockets had the Warriors back on their heels on defense and were hitting their shots from outside the three-point arc. Meanwhile, the Warriors came out cold on offense.
But the Warriors tightened up on defense, contested shots, and their own shots began to fall, with two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson knocking down threes with machine-like precision.
Thompson finished with 35 points, and Curry added 29, and they combined to shoot a red-hot 14-of-28 from three-point territory.
After the game, Curry told reporters coach Steve Kerr had some advice after his rocky start.
“He just told me to slow down,” Curry said. “When you want a game so bad, the energy in the building and how we were trying to claw our way back into it defensively, that affected my offensive game. I was just rushing it a little bit.”
Kevin Durant added 23 for the Warriors. The Rockets were without starting point guard Chris Paul, who is out with a hamstring injury. His status for Monday’s game seven is uncertain.
The Warriors have an injury concern of their own, with Andre Iguodala uncertain.
“We’re operating under the assumption that he will not play,” Kerr said.
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