Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, with their backs to the wall, fell behind by 17 points in the first quarter. The Rockets, behind James Harden and Eric Gordon, came out blazing and outscored the Warriors 39-22 in the first quarter. The Warriors turned the ball over, and shots were not falling for Golden State. The fans were starting to squirm as it looked as if the Rockets had found the key to their fourth victory in the best-of-seven series.

However, the Warriors started to play better in the second period. Klay Thompson started making shots, and the Warriors improved on defense. They won the quarter 29-21 and trailed Houston 61-51 at the end of the first half.

The Rockets were led by Harden’ 22 points. Eric Gordon made four 3-point shots and finished with 16. Trevor Ariza had 14, and he knocked down two from downtown.

Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant each had 14. Steph Curry had 13, and the Warriors bench did not make a significant contribution.

The Warriors knew that the season was on the line as they started the second half. They had to find a way to stop the Rockets attack and a way to get going on offense.

The Warriors executed that plan to perfection. They started the third quarter on an 11-0 run to take the lead for the first time since early in the game when they lead 4-3. The Rockets’ main man, James Harden, responded by making two 3-pointers to put Houston ahead 69-66.

Thompson hit a three to tie the game at 69. The Rockets rebounded to go up by four points 74-70. It was at this point that the Warriors took control of the game and went on a 14-3 run to end the third period leading 84-77.

The Warriors blew the game open in the fourth quarter when they went on a 27-6 run and held the Rockets to just nine points for the entire period. The Warriors won the game 115-86. They meet the Rockets in Houston Mondy night for the Western Conference title.

Game Notes and Stats: The Warriors were magnificent in the second half. They outscored the Rockets 64-25. They went from being down by 17 and winning by 29. That was quite a turnaround.

The Rockets were without the services of guard Chris Paul, who suffered a hamstring injury in Game 5.

The Warriors’ Andre Iguodala, so needed for his defensive skills, was unavailable for the third game in a row due to a bone bruise. He is day-to-day and may be available Monday.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr felt terribly for Paul — and others who have gone down.

“More than anything, I feel bad for Chris. The guy is a phenomenal player and competitor, and pretty much willed his team the last two games. He’s just been haunted by these types of injuries in his career, and it’s a shame,” Kerr said.

“I hate when anybody gets hurt. I hated when Andre got hurt. I hate to see Kevin Love last night, Kyrie (Irving). These guys train so hard, and they’re here, and they’re competing, and you want everybody to be healthy, but just the reality is it usually doesn’t work out that way. So you’ve just got to keep playing with whoever’s there and keep going.”

After the game, Klay Thompson had this to say about the win: “I don’t want to go home. It shows you what you are made of. We are the best defensive team in the league.

The stats show that the Warriors, as a team, outrebounded the Rockets 47-38. Also, on defense, they had 11 steals and 10 blocked shots. They forced the Rockets to commit 21 turnovers.

On offense, Klay Thompson was on fire. He ended the night with 35 points, and he made nine threes.

Steph Curry finished with 29. Curry made just one three the first half, but he found his shot in the final 24 minutes as he hit four 3-pointers.

Kevin Durant finished with 23. Draymond Green, on offense, scored just nine points but he had nine assists. He was a terror defense. He had 10 rebounds to go along with four steals and five blocked shots.

The Warriors needed the Big Four to produce, and that is exactly what the did as they shut down the Rockets after the first period.

James Harden led the Rockets with 32. Eric Gordon had 19, and Trevor Ariza finished with 14. The Warriors held Harden to 10 points in the second half. Gordon added just three and Ariza was held scoreless. Gerald Green was the only other Rocket in double figures with 11.

Up Next: The deciding game of the West Final series will be Monday night in Houston. Game time will be at 6:00 pm PST.