Neither side led by more than six at any point in the second half, but in the end it was Houston coming out on top, as the Warriors fell 98-94 to the Rockets in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals on Thursday night. Golden State had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds, but a turnover gave the ball back to Houston, and Eric Gordon iced the game with two subsequent free throws. Kevin Durant led all scorers with 29 points. Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry added 23 and 22 points, respectively, while Draymond Green notched a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds in defeat. With the result, Houston takes a 3-2 series lead, putting the Warriors on the brink of elimination heading into Game 6 on Saturday.
TEAM LEADERS
UGLY, THEN FIERCE
Both the Warriors and Rockets have put together numerous strong starts over the course of the season, but Thursday was not one of them for either team. The Warriors did no favors to themselves in the early going, committing three turnovers in the opening four minutes, but Houston proved unable to take advantage, due in part to them missing their first six three-point attempts while Golden State sorted themselves out. Houston took an 11-point lead on back-to-back three-pointers from Gerald Green just before the three minute mark, equaling their largest advantage of the entire contest, but the Warriors answered with six-straight points and closed within 23-17 at the end of one. Golden State soon began to find their footing and eventually tied the game at 45-45 going into halftime.
Aesthetically speaking, the second half was far more crisp, while maintaining the competitiveness of the first. The Warriors took their first lead of the game on Klay Thompson’s jumper 14 seconds into the third quarter, and would hold a single point advantage when the frame came to a close with Golden State in front 72-71. Stephen Curry then opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer, but unfortunately for he and the Dubs, that would prove to be the Warriors’ largest lead of the night.
Houston responded with five-straight points to jump back in front, and the game would see four more lead changes over the next three minutes before five consecutive free throws from James Harden and Eric Gordon gave Houston the lead for good. The Rockets would build a six-point advantage on three separate occasions, but Golden State eventually closed within 95-94 on Draymond Green’s three-pointer with 1:15 left to play. After Trevor Ariza missed the second of two free throws with 10 seconds remaining, the Warriors rebounded the ball and called timeout. However, Green turned the ball over off the ensuing inbound, and Golden State was forced to send Gordon to the line, who converted two free throws to seal the victory for the Rockets.
BENCH SCORING
The star players for both teams ended up with fairly typical scoring outputs, but not necessarily in the most efficient fashion. Collectively, Durant, Curry and Thompson combined for 74 points on 53 field goal attempts for Golden State, while Harden and Chris Paul scored their 39 combined points on 40 total attempts. As such, bench scoring proved to be a decisive factor in the game, as the Rockets had a significant advantage in that category. Gordon and Green, the only two Houston reserves to play in the contest, combined for 33 points, compared to just four total bench points for Golden State.
UP NEXT
For the first time since Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, the Warriors will face a postseason elimination game when they host the Rockets at Oracle Arena in Game 6 on Saturday night. FIND TICKETS