Stephen Curry scores 23 fourth quarter points as Golden State Warriors complete 4-2 series win over Houston Rockets
Saturday 11 May 2019 11:51, UK
Stephen Curry scored 23 fourth-quarter points as the Golden State Warriors defeated the Houston Rockets 118-113 in Game 6 to advance to their fifth consecutive Western Conference Finals.
Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 60 points as the visiting Warriors pulled away late to claim a 4-2 series victory on Friday night.
The Warriors prevailed in the finale of the best-of-seven series despite playing without their leading scorer this postseason, Kevin Durant, sidelined due to a calf injury.
Durant's status is uncertain ahead of Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, which takes place in Oakland in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The Warriors will face the Portland Trail Blazers or the Denver Nuggets.
Curry, scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting in the first half, sank a pair of dagger three-pointers down the stretch of the fourth quarter and posted 33 points. He was 8-for-8 from the foul line in the final 30.4 seconds of the game.
With the Rockets trailing 107-104 following a driving lay-up from James Harden, Thompson nailed a three-pointer with 36.1 seconds remaining to clinch the series for the Warriors.
Thompson added 27 points on 7-of-13 shooting from three-point range, and the Golden State bench, largely absent throughout the series, contributed 33 points, with Kevon Looney (14 points) and Shaun Livingston (11) both scoring in double figures.
The Warriors finished 16-of-38 from behind the arc, with Andre Iguodala going 5-of-8 on three-point attempts while contributing 17 points.
Harden paced the Rockets with 35 points and added eight rebounds and four steals. Chris Paul produced his best game of the series with 27 points and 11 boards, but it wasn't enough.
The Warriors also eliminated the Rockets last postseason, winning Game 7 of the conference finals in Houston.
As was the case throughout the series, neither team could maintain a lead once one was established. The Rockets forged a 37-33 edge on a Paul pull-up in transition at the 9:26 mark of the second quarter only for the Warriors to reel off a 17-5 run that featured a Livingston dunk, an Iguodala trey and back-to-back threes from Thompson that lifted Golden State to a 50-42 advantage.
The Rockets responded with a 15-5 spurt that included successive three-pointers from Austin Rivers, Harden and Gerald Green, but the Warriors pulled even at the break with a jumper from Thompson, who had 21 points by the intermission.
In the third quarter, whenever the Rockets pushed ahead, the Warriors clawed back.
Early in the fourth, when Iguodala drained a three-pointer immediately after the Rockets squandered a three-on-one transition opportunity, the Warriors were within 89-85. That's when, finally, Curry arrived and led Golden State back to the Western Conference finals.
Game 7 of the Nuggets-Trail Blazers series is scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Denver - watch live for free with Sky Sports' NBA Courtside.
The Western Conference Finals commence in Oakland in the early hours of Wednesday morning - the Warriors will face either the Portland Trail Blazers or the Denver Nuggets.
