The Golden State Warriors didn’t make it easy on themselves, but they are moving on to the next round of the playoffs.
The Warriors, after huge halves from Buddy Hield and Stephen Curry, put the Houston Rockets away Sunday night to close out their opening-round Western Conference series. The Warriors grabbed a 103-89 win over the Rockets in Game 7 at the Toyota Center, giving them the 4-3 series win that sends them into the conference semifinals for a third time in the past four seasons.
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The win also allowed the Warriors to avoid becoming the 14th team in NBA history to blow a 3-1 series lead, something they famously did in the 2016 NBA Finals against LeBron James and the Cavs.
Buddy Hield dropped 22 points in the first half to help stun the Rockets and close out the series Sunday night. (AP/Ashley Landis)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
After a tight first quarter and a poor first half offensively from Curry, the Warriors jumped ahead to a 12-point lead at the break. That was all thanks to Hield, who was just about unstoppable on a night when he matched an NBA record in a Game 7 for most made 3-pointers (nine).
Hield put up 22 of his playoff career-high 33 points in the first two quarters while shooting 6-of-7 from behind the arc. All but one of those made 3-pointers came in the second quarter, and he hit his series high in points before halftime. Hield helped the Warriors mount a 16-2 run in the second quarter. Curry didn’t hit his first bucket until the final minute of the period when he finally got a deep 3-pointer to fall.
As Hield’s hot streak came to an end in the third quarter, so did the Warriors’ offense. The Rockets mounted a quick 14-4 run early after halftime to get the game back to single digits, and then they made it a one-possession contest after Jabari Smith Jr. drained a 3-pointer late in the period.
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That was as close as the Rockets came to completing their comeback. The Warriors ended the third quarter on a 7-2 burst and didn’t give up a field goal the rest of the period to push their lead back to eight. Hield didn’t score in the third quarter, attempting just a single shot.
Curry, after his slow first half, finally came alive. He opened the fourth quarter on a solo 5-0 run, which included a step-back 3-pointer, in the first 71 seconds of the period to suddenly put the Warriors up by 13 points again and force a quick Rockets timeout.
Finally, Hield hit again in the second half with a 3-pointer midway through the fourth — which pushed the Warriors back to a double-digit lead after a little Rockets push.
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The Warriors used one last push, this time in the form of a 12-0 burst capped by another Hield 3-pointer, in less than 90 seconds, to lead by a whopping 20 points. That sealed the deal and allowed Golden State to cruise to the 14-point win. The Warriors have won 20 of their past 25 games against the Rockets.
Amen Thompson led the Rockets with 24 points and nine rebounds. Alperen Şengün added 21 points on 23 shots and had 14 rebounds, and Fred VanVleet added 17 points. They were the only three Rockets players to hit double figures.
The Rockets went 6-of-18 from behind the arc, falling 3 triples short of what Hield produced himself for the Warriors.
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Hield finished 12-of-15 from the field. Curry added 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and Jimmy Butler finished with 20 points and eight rebounds. The Warriors outscored Houston by 36 points from behind the arc. All but three of Golden State’s total points came from its starters. Kevon Looney was the only bench player to score.
The Warriors will now take on the Minnesota Timberwolves in the next round starting Tuesday night in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves rolled over LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers to grab a 4-1 series win to reach the semifinals.
