Golden State Warriors 101-92 Houston Rockets
It was hard work. It was SEVEN GAMES. However, after all the careless plays and frequent showboating of their immense talent, the Golden State Warriors came out on top of the West, again.
The Western Conference Finals results won’t be forgotten any time soon. The Houston Rockets fought hard and almost stole the series away from the defending champions; but as what we have seen in the decisive Game 7, experience goes a long way.
It helped the Warriors that they have four All-Stars in their fold, though that’s just trivial for the Rockets who can’t use Chris Paul’s absence as an excuse after finishing as the best team in the NBA and getting home-court advantage over the Bay Area team.
Highlights of the game
Golden State are the best third-quarter team in the league, and as if the Rockets needed any reminder of that, the Dubs exploded big time at the start of the second half to pull away for good.
Trailing by 11 points at halftime, the Warriors turned the game around by outscoring the Rockets by 18 points in the third canto.
Stephen Curry sparked the turnaround and scored 14 points. He hit four of his five shots from deep in the quarter, including the dagger with 3:58 left that gave them the lead (for good), 64-61.
Houston, in contrast, went ice cold as the Warriors roll. They failed to convert any of their 14 attempts from the three-point land in the penultimate period—an ugly stretch that formed part of 27 straight misses from the said area. The Rockets ended up making only seven out of 44 three-pointers.
James Harden, in the absence of Paul, tried to rescue the Rockets from their demise. Nonetheless, his 32 points were not enough to counter Golden State’s firepower—it was mission impossible with Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson clicking offensively.
Aaaaaaaand that’s it! The Golden State #Warriors advance to the #NBAFinals🏆#DubNation #StrengthInNumbers #NBAPlayoffs
Durant: 32pts 5rebs 5asts 3blks 5/11 3pt FG
Green 10pts 13rebs 5asts
Thompson: 19pts 3 rebs
Curry: 27pts 9rebs 10asts 4stls 7/15 3pt FG pic.twitter.com/J9XiLZtOO8— SBOBET (@SBOBET) May 29, 2018
Curry finished with a near triple-double of 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. He also had four steals to highlight his all-around performance in the crucial game.
Durant had 34 markers while Thompson chipped in 19 points on 61.5 percent shooting—the highest shooting clip among all Warriors. Draymond Green was also pivotal, thanks to his 10 points, 13 boards and five assists.
On the other hand, Eric Gordon, Clint Capela and PJ Tucker combined for 57 points, but they were only the other bright spots for a Houston team that largely disappointed. Trevor Ariza was held scoreless throughout the 41 minutes he was on the court.
“This is a situation we’ve never been in before: to win a game seven on the road and keep our composure for the whole series,” Curry said after securing the West championship. “All those hurdles and obstacles, we got over them, so it’s an unbelievable feeling. Winning a championship is hard, so this is a testament to that.”
Key statistics
The Warriors fell behind by as much as 15 points in the first half, something that Warriors coach Steve Kerr described as “bizarre.” In Kerr’s defence, the manner the Dubs’ fell to the huge hole was weird as well: they committed four fouls in the opening 55 seconds with Thompson drawing two, leading to his early benching.
“I saw one of the worst quarters of basketball we’ve ever played and we’re down five points,” Kerr said after the first half. “So if we can get our act together, we’ll be fine.”
However, the Dubs made up for it with an excellent third quarter showing. Despite Thompson playing only three minutes in the quarter, they scored 35 points while shooting 53 percent overall and 55 percent from distance.
Durant also played a key role in the Dubs’ comeback victory, scoring 21 of his 34 points in the second half—all after struggling for the most part of the series.
What’s next?
Golden State Warriors versus Cleveland Cavaliers: Chapter IV. Need we say more?
The Warriors join the Cavs as two of only five teams to reach four straight NBA Finals. They will now renew their rivalry that has really developed over the years.
Golden State won the title in 2015 and 2017, while Cleveland stopped what could have been a Warriors’ three-peat by lifting the Larry O’Brien Trophy in 2016—doing so against the record-breaking 72-9 California squad.
NBA Finals betting odds point to the Warriors as the overwhelming favourites, but LeBron James—who has single-handedly carried the Cavs to the ultimate party—will be keen to prove otherwise.
The NBA Finals begins this June, with the Warriors getting the home-court advantage after finishing with a better record than the Cavs.
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