The Golden State Warriors have advanced to the NBA Finals for the fourth consecutive season after defeating the Rockets 101-92 in Game 7 in Houston on Monday night. For the second-straight game, Golden State fell behind early and faced a double-digit deficit at halftime, but exploded in the third quarter on their way to victory. Stephen Curry was sensational and missed a triple-double by a single assist, scoring 14 of his 22 points in that third quarter surge. Kevin Durant scored 21 of his game-high 34 points in the second half, while Draymond Green recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds to go with five assists. With the victory, Golden State wins the series four games to three, and advances to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2018 NBA Finals.
TEAM LEADERS
LOOK FAMILIAR?
If you experienced a bit of déjà vu during the first half of Monday's game, don't worry, you weren't the only one. After the Warriors survived an ugly start to stave off elimination in Game 6, Golden State followed the same recipe to a Game 7 victory on the road.
The first few minutes of the game could not have gone much worse for the Warriors, as they picked up four personal fouls in the first 72 seconds. Klay Thompson committed two of those in the first 54 seconds, and would pick up his third personal with 8:21 remaining in the opening frame. Stephen Curry made Golden State's first three-pointer of the game just prior to that to put the Dubs in front 9-7, but that would prove to be their only lead until the second half. Houston immediately responded with an 8-0 run, and would go on to hold a 24-19 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Things would get worse for Golden State before they'd get better, as an 18-10 burst midway through the second frame would give the Rockets a 48-33 lead with just under five minutes remaining in the first half. That would prove to be Houston's largest lead of the night, however, as the Warriors would trim the deficit to 54-43 going into halftime, setting the scene for yet another second half comeback.
In Game 6, the Warriors opened the second half on an 11-0 run to jump back in front before running away with the game. On Monday night in Game 7, James Harden provided the first points of the third quarter, after which Golden State responded with a 10-2 run to close within five. Then, after P.J. Tucker split free throws, Curry began to take the game over. First, he assisted on Draymond Green's layup, before sinking a three-pointer to pull the Warriors within three. Less than a minute later, Kevin Durant tied the game with a three of his own, after which Curry splashed home another trey to put Golden State in front for the first time since early in the opening quarter. After two Harden free throws, Curry then converted a layup before converting back-to-back three-pointers to put the Warriors up 72-63 with 2:11 remaining in the third. After that Curry flurry, Golden State wouldn't trail again for the rest of the contest.
The Warriors took a 76-69 lead into the fourth quarter, and Thompson's second three-pointer of the game gave the Warriors their first double-digit advantage of the night at 83-73 with 9:33 left to play. Durant and Curry kept the Rockets at bay with three-pointers separated by 27 seconds, and after Houston went on a 7-0 burst to cut the deficit to six points with 5:07 remaining, Thompson dropped in his third and final three-pointer of the night to steal back the momentum and provide the deciding points in the contest. Golden State would then turn to Durant down the backstretch, who scored six of the Dubs' final eight points in the game to clinch the victory.
SECOND HALF SURGE
The Warriors have yet to put together a complete game, but they continue to rely on a recipe that's worked for them up to this point. Over the course of Games 6 and 7, the Rockets outscored Golden State by 21 points in the first half. The problem for Houston? The Warriors outscored the Rockets by 59 points in the second.
Most of the Dubs' damage on Monday night was done in the third quarter, which should come as no surprise at this point. Golden State erased an 11-point halftime deficit and took the lead for good after winning the third quarter by a 33-15 margin. With that third quarter burst, the Warriors outscored Houston by 68 points in the third frame over the course of the entire series, which is larger than the total scoring margin by any team in any other playoff series this year. Additionally, the 11-point halftime deficit is the largest halftime deficit overcome by a road team in a Game 7 in NBA history.
By winning Game 7, the Warriors became the first team in NBA history to win multiple elimination games in the same series when trailing by at least 10 points at halftime.
THREE-POINTERS
Call it fatigue or simply bad luck, but the three-point shooting that made the Rockets such an offensive powerhouse throughout the season came back to bite them on Monday night.
The Rockets actually started the game off shooting the ball well from beyond the arc. While both teams made only five of their first 14 field goal attempts to begin the contest, four of Houston's makes came from three-point range. Their accuracy would fall off from there, though, as they'd miss all their remaining three-point attempts in the first quarter, and go into halftime having shot 6-of-23 from three-point land. In fact, after Eric Gordon converted a three-pointer with 6:43 remaining in the first half, Houston wouldn't make another trey until there was 7:02 left in the fourth quarter. The Rockets would take – and miss – 27 three-pointers over that span, establishing an NBA record for the most consecutive missed three-point field goals in NBA playoff history.
Conversely, after struggling from three-point range (6-of-21) in the first half, Golden State caught fire over the final two quarters, finishing the game 16-of-39 (.410) from three-point range.
UP NEXT
The Warriors advance to the 2018 NBA Finals, where they'll take on the Eastern Conference Champion Cleveland Cavaliers for the NBA Championship for the fourth-straight season, beginning with Game 1 at Oracle Arena on Thursday night. TICKET INFORMATION
It's the most consecutive championship matchups between two teams in the history of any of the four major sports. Additionally, the Warriors become the fifth franchise in NBA history to advance to four-straight Finals, joining the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat.