Houston blew a chance to take control of the Western Conference semi-finals on Wednesday night. They had a chance to end a dynasty. And they failed. That’s painful to say, but it’s the truth. No one wanted Kevin Durant to get hurt. The injury sucks, not just because all injuries suck but because the league and playoffs are better with him in it. With that being said, Houston has to take advantage of his absence in the same way that Golden State took advantage of Chris Paul’s hamstring injury last season. The Rockets must win at home in Game 6 to force a decisive Game 7 back at Oracle. While it would appear that Houston’s job will become a lot easier with Durant out, that’s a naive approach. The core a 73-win regular season team is still available to the Warriors, and Steph Curry and Klay Thompson found themselves in Game 5. In fact, Steph started running the Harden isolation offense to great effect. What’s more, the Warriors can open up their playbook and run more plays rather than “Give the ball to KD and let him go to work.” While that plan of attack has been successful, the Warriors are not a one-trick pony like others because they have four other All-Stars on their team. Expect plenty of ball movement and long-range bombs from the Dubs in this one. They can go back to the basics of their foundation tonight and that’s a scary prospect for Houston. Rebounds have clearly been the best predictive factor in the series so far, and tonight will be no different. With Kevon Looney likely to get more minutes than normal, Houston will have to find a way to keep him off the boards. In general, Houston has to dominate the Golden State bench in a way that they haven’t yet in this series. Curry or Thompson will probably be on the court at all times, but it’s up to Houston to make them pay. A vintage CP3 game would be nice. It’s difficult not to think about what a loss here would mean. While the pressure was fully on Golden State to win Game 5, that same pressure is now fully on the Rockets. If they cannot win at home against the Warriors sans Durant, they will have to take another long look in the mirror this summer. You can only “run it back” so many times before the players start to lose belief in their ability to achieve the ultimate goal of a championship. A lot of people’s reputations are at stake tonight, from Daryl Morey to Paul to Mike D’Antoni. But more than anyone else, tonight rests on the Beard. Tonight marks another chance for James Harden to redeem his Game 6 stinker against the San Antonio Spurs two seasons ago in this same round. With Kawhi Leonard injured and a must-win game at Toyota Center, Harden laid an egg. Tonight’s situation almost completely mirrors that one (these Warriors are obviously better than those Spurs), so this could be the continuation of Harden’s redemption arc or more fodder for the talking heads. Houston brought in CP3 for games like this to prevent a repeat of that horrid Game 6 experience, so once again it’s imperative that he stay aggressive and contribute in his minutes. There’s a chance this is the last game preview of the season. I said my thank yous in the final game preview of the regular season, so I’ll just quickly thank all of you that have read this far. Hopefully you’ll see a Game 7 preview on Sunday (and more beyond that), but I didn’t want to miss this opportunity to show my gratitude. Tip-off is at 8pm CT on ESPN<doc-sep>The Golden State have booked their spot in the Western Conference Finals by defeating the Houston Rockets on the road in an epic Game 6 duel that went down to the wire. The Golden State Warriors are heading back to the Western Conference Finals after taking care of business against the Houston Rockets. Houston threw it all at the Warriors and looked like they were on their way to forcing the series into a deciding Game 7, but then Steph Curry came to life. An incredible final quarter from the duel MVP winner saw the home crowd left in stunned silence as the Warriors emerged victorious. If you missed any of the Game 6 action, we've got you covered below… Warriors 118, Rockets 113 (Warriors advance 4-2) Final: Warriors 118, Rockets 113 Stephen Curry was far from his MVP best through the first three quarters of the pivotal Game 6, but when it mattered most he came to life. Curry scored 23 of his 33 points in the fourth as he led the Warriors to the series deciding victory on the road. Along with Curry's hot hand, Klay Thompson was on fire from beyond the arc as the duo combined for 60 points. Steph (33 PTS) & Klay (27 PTS & 7 3PM) went to Houston and took care of business to take the series 4-2 over the Rockets! 🔒👌#StrengthInNumbers #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/DcF7TiGgj4 - NBA TV (@NBATV) May 11, 2019 James Harden threw everything he had at the Warriors, but in the end the relentless firepower from Curry was too much to overcome. Third Quarter: Rockets 87, Warriors 82 The third quarter belonged to Chris Paul as the Rockets point guard poured in 10 of his 21 points to hand Houston the lead heading into the final quarter. Klay Thompson continued his hot shooting from deep by knocking down his sixth in the term as Steph Curry's shooting woes continued. Second quarter: Rockets 57, Warriors 57 Back and forth we go in what is turning into an epic Game 6 battle. It was James Harden who lit it up in the opening quarter, but it was Klay Thompson who was on fire in the second. Thompson buried four threes and goes into the main break with 21 points to his name. James Harden leads the Rockets with 19. 21 PTS for Klay Thompson, 19 PTS for James Harden, and we're all tied at the break!#StrengthInNumbers 57#RunAsOne 57#NBAPlayoffs on @ESPNNBA pic.twitter.com/nnIjkBL0Ql - NBA (@NBA) May 11, 2019 With no Kevin Durant, the Warriors were hopeful Steph Curry would find his shooting touch. But Curry endured a tough opening half with zero points on 0-5 shooting and picking up 3 fouls. First Quarter: Rockets 28, Warriors 27 Foul trouble saw Steph Curry go to the bench less than halfway through the opening quarter after picking up his second. The Warriors offense looked stagnant at times in the halfcourt while the Rockets couldn't find the right touch. Houston got to the line 10 times in the opening quarter with James Harden leading the way with 14 points. James Harden pulls up for three and has 14 1st quarter PTS! #NBAPlayoffs #RunAsOne 23#StrengthInNumbers 23 📺: @ESPNNBA - NBA (@NBA) May 11, 2019 Pregame Stephen Curry laces up his kicks and gets loose prior to Game 6 Steph Curry laces up the "Splash Party" UA Curry 1 in Houston! #NBAKicks pic.twitter.com/hhIb84h7oG - NBA KICKS (@NBAKicks) May 10, 2019 The last eight meetings between the Warriors and Rockets have been decided by a total of one point in favor of Golden State. The teams have split those games 4-4 with no game decided by more than six points.<doc-sep>All season long, we’ve wondered what it would take to wake this team up. Chasing a different brand of history, the regular season lost some of it’s luster for this Golden State Warriors team as they dragged themselves through 82 game’s worth of prequel. Even in the playoffs, it was hard to miss: the old magic was changed. Though they had their individual moments, mostly it felt like Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and the rest of the team were getting pulled through the playoffs as ancillary pieces behind the historic performance of Kevin Durant. And then KD went down. And then somehow, the old school Warriors pulled out the win anyways. Somehow, the ancient magic was returned. Curry was once again the dynamic driving force behind what felt like a inevitable winning machine. You could see the despair and hopelessness on Chris Paul and James Harden as they left the court shell shocked and vacant-eyed. It felt right. GAME DETAILS: WHO: Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets (Warriors lead series 3-2) WHEN: Friday, May 10; 6:00 p.m. WHERE: Toyota CenterHouston, TX WATCH: TNT RADIO: 95.7 The Game We Believe part whatever: Moving forward without Durant The funny thing about faith is that you don’t really need it if there’s evidence in front of you. With evidence, there’s no need for faith; it’s not until you are faced with a lack of evidence that you need to draw on your faith. While the Warriors steamrolled the entire league for consecutive years, Dubs Nation could simply bask in the majesty and splendor of it all. But after a few years, the league is starting to catch up. Even with Durant and Curry leading what is arguably the most talented starting five in the history of the NBA, there was a palpable air of concern. Meaningless losses in February were easier to write off, but as Golden State failed to separate themselves from the Los Angeles Clippers, and then ran into a Rockets team that was exactly as tough as advertised, a lot of fans starting doing the Doctor Strange face flick as they mentally forecast all the millions of permutations. “What if it’s not our year? What if Durant leaves and this is it?” With a loss last night, that could very well have been the last Warriors game at Oracle - ever. But that’s not how it went. Curry, Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala found another gear and managed to hold off the Rockets to win a pivotal game five, and now they march on Houston with serious intent to end the series on the road. We still don’t know how this ends, but we do know that this old school core has given fans every reason to have faith in them. Updated (through G5) raw +/- for the Rockets/Warriors starters: Draymond Green: +37 Steph Curry: +23 PJ Tucker: +14 Klay Thompson: +9 Andre Iguodala: +9 Chris Paul: +7 Kevin Durant: -1 James Harden: -3 Eric Gordon: -10 Clint Capela: -35 — Brady Klopfer (@BradyKlopferNBA) May 9, 2019 Doing whatever they can to help their team win, Chris Paul and James Harden ’s antics haven’t been enough James Harden is one of the best players in the NBA. He has routinely put up historic numbers while carrying a huge offensive burden for one of the top offenses in the league. Likewise, Chris Paul is a future hall of famer with a list of accomplishments taller than he is. And yet, once again in the playoffs, these two found themselves unable to lead their team to victory when it counted the most. And as Shakespeare says, “heavy lies the head that wears the crown” - these losses, and the importance are not lost on Houston’s biggest stars; the blame has nowhere else to go. From The Athletic: With 39 seconds left, and Kevin Durant long gone, the victim of a right calf strain, Chris Paul raised his head to look at the jumbotron in the middle of Oracle Arena. The Rockets were only down four, but it felt worse than that. He shook his head in disappointment as he walked towards the bench, mired in the worst playoff outing of his esteemed career. With 4.1 seconds remaining, James Harden crossed halfcourt unable to hide his frustration. “Fuck!” he yelled, clapping his hands together. They know better than anyone. This next game (or two) could very well be the defining moments of their respective careers. What to watch for in game six The Durant-sized hole Even as we await the MRI results, it’s assured that Kevin Durant will not play tomorrow. Facing a thin bench, coach Steve Kerr and the Warriors will have to get creative. My guess would be Kevon Looney starts, though perhaps we would go super old school and throw Bogut out there for a few minutes. As Anthony Slater suggests, it would allow us to match him up against Capella. Behind that, expect the Warriors to try Jonas Jerebko. He hasn’t been great in the series, but given Kerr’s complete lack of trust in Jordan Bell and the already heavy workload on the stars we just don’t have many other option to soak up the 42 minutes per night previously carried by Durant. Splash Bros vs. whatever we call the Rockets backcourt As Marcus Thompson write for The Athletic, that wasn’t just a momentous end to the game. For Stephen Curry, it was a timely reminder that the magic was still his to call upon: He overcame the Rockets relentless double-teams, his prolonged slump, the enormity of the moment, and carried the Warriors to the biggest win of the season. He accounted for half of the Warriors fourth-quarter points, scoring 12 himself and assisting on a pair of layups. And the attention his double-teams drew set up several other points, including Klay Thompson’s game-sealing layup, space and opportunity provided by the Rockets’ determination to keep the ball away from Curry. Both Curry and Thompson were superb in the final moments. And as good as they’ve been for the series, Harden, Paul, and Eric Gordon were unable to overcome it. This feels very familiar because it has been. There is a tremendous amount of personal glory, and shame, up for grabs right now and it should be fun to watch. Don’t you dare look away from this, Dub Nation. Predictions Well, I’ll be watching this game in Hawaii, so that’s good. But otherwise? My only prediction is that this game will be borderline too stressful to enjoy. High stakes, and high quality basketball - here’s hoping our boys come out on top. I started off predicting Warriors in seven games, let’s pray to Threesus that Golden State can prove me wrong tonight.<doc-sep>
Despite all odds being stacked against them, the Golden State Warriors eliminated the Houston Rockets in Game 6 with a 118-113 victory. With the Warriors missing Kevin Durant due to a calf strain and Golden State playing on the road at the Toyota Center, the defending champions relied on a huge first-half performance from Klay Thompson (21 points in the first half), a clutch fourth quarter from Stephen Curry and a surprising performance from the team's bench to eliminate their Western Conference rivals. Curry led the way with 33 points while Thompson finished the night with 27 points. Golden State will now face the winner of Game 7 between the Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals. Here are some major takeaways from Golden State's victory: The old Warriors This is no disrespect to Kevin Durant, who is, at this point, pretty indisputably the best player in the NBA. But my goodness are the old Warriors something to behold. They are not perfect. They turn the ball over. They make stupid plays and get in foul trouble. But have you ever seen a team that fights like this? A few days after Kyrie Irving and the Celtics showed us what it looks like to wither up and die when the going gets tough, the Warriors reminded everyone what the heart of a champion actually looks like. Given the circumstances -- the Durant absence, Curry being held scoreless in the first half, the foul trouble, on the road -- this might very well be the most impressive victory throughout this entire five-year run. Just absolutely incredible. "Not going to swear tonight. They're giants. They're champions. These guys are a historically good basketball team," head coach Steve Kerr said of his Warriors after the Game 6 win. "You do not do what these guys have done without an incredible combination of talent and character." Stephen Curry is a god Curry has never struggled with his shot like this. For five games against Houston he was shooting 26 percent from 3. He went 0-for-5 in the first half and was held scoreless. He looked awful. That is not an overstatement. Full-blown awful. So what does he do? He comes out and scores 33 second-half points, including some monster shots in crunch time. Forget the otherworldly shooting ability -- this is what pure, unabashed confidence looks like. There might not be another player in the world who can go from shooting, and playing, that poorly to flat out dominating in the blink of an eye like he never missed a beat. Just remarkable, the willingness and self-belief to keep playing through those struggles at full speed, no hesitation, against relentless double-teams and traps, with the stakes that high and a world of criticism awaiting him if he didn't turn it around. Never doubt Steph Curry. Ever. Unless you want to look like a fool. "That game personified Steph Curry," Kerr said after the game. "He's just fearless. That's what makes him who he is." Can't say it better than that. Game 6 Klay Thompson Klay has a history of going off in Game 6s, and he did it again when the Warriors needed it most, finishing with with 27 points, but it was the 21 first-half points that were beyond huge. If Klay doesn't carry the Warriors in the first half while Curry was on the bench with three fouls and zero points, there are no heroics to be had at the end. It would've been over long before that. Never mind Klay's defense all night. He had some of the most impressive defensive possessions you will ever see in this game. This dude is such a battler it's hard to find the words for it. Unfazed by anything. Kudos to Chris Paul and James Harden Especially Paul, who finally had a vintage Chris Paul game with 27 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. He hit 3s. He got into the lane. He gave Harden, who finished with 35 points, the support he needed, and it just wasn't enough. This is as brutal a loss as Paul has ever suffered, and he's suffered some brutal ones. The Rockets did not lose this game, however. The Warriors won it. That's a big distinction that needs to be made. Recap of live updates CBS Sports was with you throughout Warriors vs. Rockets Game 6. Scroll through our LIVE blog if you missed anything.