Tag: NBA Playoffs

Cavs’ LeBron scores 51, but Warriors take Game 1 with 124-114 win

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Photo credit: @triplebszn

By: Ana Kieu

The rivalry continued as the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers met in the NBA Finals for the fourth straight year.

Dub Nation was excited to see their boys at Oracle Arena, and without a doubt, the players cleaned up nice before Game 1. Meanwhile, Wine and Gold Nation threw a watch party at the Quicken Loans Arena, courtesy of Budweiser.

Actress and San Jose, Calif., native Nayah Damasen, best known for her appearances on “Grey’s Anatomy” as Kimmie Park, sang the National Anthem. Damasen previously sung the anthem in the 2015 NBA Finals.

Steph Curry got the home crowd pumping with a 3-pointer to get the Warriors on the board. Curry later found Jordan Bell for the wide-open dunk.

Klay Thompson suffered what appeared to be a left lateral leg contusion, but he was re-taped and cleared to return to the game.

Both teams played their hearts out, but the Warriors trailed the Cavs 30-29 after the first quarter.

Thompson hit a three to help the Warriors grab the lead. With that three, Thompson (293) passed Kobe Bryant (292) for sixth place on the NBA’s all-time postseason threes list.

The clock was winding down, but Curry made a 30-foot buzzer beater from downtown. The Warriors evened the score 56-56 to end the first half.

At the half, Curry led all scorers with 18 points, 6 assists and 3 rebounds. Kevin Durant had 11 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds. Thompson had 8 points. Draymond Green had 5 points, 3 steals, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Bell had 4 points.

The Warriors opened the second half with a 10-3 run. JaVale McGee then made a 2-point field goal look easy and followed up with an incredible dunk.

Neither team played defense to the best of their respective abilities, but that was seemingly okay as both teams were tied 68-68 with about 5.5 minutes left on the clock.

The game remained fairly close as the Warriors led the Cavs 84-78 after three quarters.

The Cavs cut the deficit to just 1 with 8:52 left in regulation, thanks to Jeff Green and Kyle Korver. Cleveland was 12-17 from the line at that time.

Curry’s three put the Warriors up by six for a 100-94 lead with 4:37 left remaining. This astonishing moment came just minutes after LeBron James had his eighth 40-point game in the playoffs and third in his last five.

The Cavs had a chance to escape with a one-point win, but George Hill made just one of two free throws. The game went into overtime.

The Warriors went on a 7-0 run to start the extra period. Golden State took a 114-107 lead in less than two minutes.

The Warriors were up by 8 with 2.6 seconds left.

The Warriors took Game 1 with a 124-114 victory over the Cavs.

In the end, Curry led all scorers with 29 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists. Durant had 26 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocks. Thompson had 24 points and 3 rebounds. Green had 13 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks. Shaun Livingston had 10 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. Kevon Looney had 8 points and 4 rebounds. Bell had 4 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. McGee scored 4 points, 1 rebound and 1 block.

Notes
Warriors’ starters: Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Kevon Looney and Steph Curry.

Cavs’ starters: George Hill, J.R. Smith, LeBron James, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson.

Up Next 
The Warriors and Cavs meet again in Oakland Sunday at 6:00 pm PST on ABC.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: When Hollywood Comes to Oakland

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By: Amaury Pi Gonzalez

OAKLAND, Calif. — For the first time ever in the history of the United States, the same two teams are meeting for the fourth consecutive time in a series that will decide the champion. The Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers open the NBA Finals at the Oracle Arena Thursday night. The rivalry began in 2015 when the Warriors wiped out the Cavaliers in five games. In 2016, the Cavaliers rebounded as Lebron James, arguably the greatest player in the planet, defeated the Warriors in a grueling seven-game series. In 2017, the Warriors eliminated LeBron and company in six games.

Soon touching down at the Oakland International Airport, there will be many Lear jets bringing Hollywood celebrities to “the place to be.” Kim Kardashian, who just met with President Donald Trump in the White House to discuss prison reform, will likely be seen at Oracle Arena.

Like the previous three finals, we’ll probably see rapper Jay-Z, singer Rihanna, actor Kevin Hart, comedian Dave Chappelle, Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, Brazilian soccer superstar Neymar and NFL players Marshawn Lynch, Solomon Thomas and Odell Beckham Jr. We could also could see rapper Drake, actor Matt Damon and many more.

Oakland is closer to the “jet set” from Hollywood, so I am pretty sure we will see more stars in Oakland than Cleveland. It is only a one and a half hour flight. That’s good enough for these celebs to have breakfast in LA and dinner in the Bay with the game in between.

I remember in the 90’s, I traveled with the Warriors as their Spanish play-by-play announcer and saw guys at mid-court like Jack Nicholson in LA and Billy Crystal in New York. Nicholson was a fixture at the old Forum in LA at every Lakers game.

The Warriors were a popular team who always sold out at home, but never won a title. The last one was under Al Attles’ 1975-76 team, who swept the Washington Bullets.

The last four years the Oracle Arena has become a “Fantasy Island” for Warriors fans in the Bay Area. They’re now are the undisputed leaders in flag displays on thousands of cars, no matter where you drive in San Francisco, Oakland or San Jose, there’s a car with one or more Warriors flags. The Warriors have become larger than life in the greater Bay Area. There will be watch parties in bars, restaurants and private homes all over the Bay Area. It is like a second Super Bowl every year. Nobody expects the Warriors to lose.

It was a long season for both of these teams. Both were taken to seven games in their respective Conference finals: Warriors by the Rockets, who really did as good as they could against a superior team, and the Cavaliers in seven games against a young and promising Boston Celtics team.

Lebron James will really have to be Superman and have all of the Marvel Heroes support him again this time if he wants to take the Cavaliers to the promised land again like in 2016.

ABC producers are busy, as they are getting the camera locations and angels during rehearsals. They will also give you a couple shots of the celebrities. They will carry the series and I will be surprised if the Cavaliers can stay with the Warriors for five games.

All games on ABC, Channel 7 for the Bay Area, in PST.

1. Thursday, May 31 | Oakland | 6 p.m.
2. Sunday, June 3 | Oakland | 5 p.m.
3. Wednesday, June 6 | Cleveland | 6 p.m.
4. Friday, June 8 | Cleveland | 6 p.m.
5. Monday, June 11 | Oakland | 6 p.m.
6. Thursday, June 14 | Cleveland | 6 p.m.
7. Sunday, June 17 | Oakland | 5 p.m.

Warriors take Rocket Red brick road to NBA Finals with 101-92 win

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Monday, May 28, 2018

For the fourth consecutive year, the Golden State Warriors are headed to the NBA Finals. The Warriors got there, marching on a newly-laid road of red bricks, courtesy of the Houston Rockets.

As they do so often, the Warriors exploded out of the halftime break. Combined with Houston’s cold streak from behind the arc, Golden State caught fire offensively and defeated the Rockets 102-92 in Game 7 of the NBA Western Conference Finals Monday at the Toyota Center.

And, for the fourth straight season, the Warriors will meet Cleveland in the NBA Finals. Game 1 is Thursday in Oakland at 6 pm PST.

For the second game in a row, the Rockets suffered a second-half collapse, playing without injured guard Chris Paul (hamstring). In Games 6 and 7, the Warriors outscored Houston 122-63 in the second half.

Kevin Durant poured in 34 points for the Warriors, and Stephen Curry sparked yet another third-quarter rally, finishing with 27 points – 14 in the third quarter. Klay Thompson added 19 points, and Draymond Green had 10 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.

The Rockets missed 27 straight 3-point attempts, while Golden State overcame a 15-point deficit in the second quarter, surging ahead to stay with a 21-7 run to open the second half.

Houston wound up 7-of-44 on 3’s; James Harden was 2-of-13, Eric Gordon was 2-of-12, and Trevor Ariza missed all nine 3-point attempts.

Harden led the Rockets with 32 points, Clint Capela added 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Tucker finished with 14 points and 12 boards, as the 1-seed Rockets fell short in their bid to return to the Finals for the first time since 1995.

Game 1
Thursday, May 31
Cleveland at Golden State
6:00 p.m. (PDT) Ana Kieu
Game 2
Sunday, June 3
Cleveland at Golden State
5:00 p.m. (PDT) Jerry Feitelberg
Game 3
Wednesday, June 6
Golden State at Cleveland
6:00 p.m. (PDT) Daniel Dullum
Game 4
Friday, June 8
Golden State at Cleveland
6:00 p.m. (PDT) Pearl Lo
Game 5*
Monday, June 11
Cleveland at Golden State
6:00 p.m. (PDT) Joe Hawkes Beamon
Game 6*
Thursday, June 14
Golden State at Cleveland
6:00 p.m. (PDT) Daniel Dullum
Game 7*
Sunday, June 17
Cleveland at Golden State
5:00 p.m. (PDT) Jerry Feitelberg
*if necessary

Warriors destroy Rockets 115-86 to force Game 7

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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.

Rockets take Game 5 with 98-94 win, go up 3-2 on Warriors in West Finals

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

HOUSTON — The Rockets took advantage of 18 turnovers by the Warriors, the final pivotal one coming off Draymond Green’s leg with under 10 seconds remaining and Eric Gordon knocked down two free throws to perserve a 98-94 victory in Game 5 of the West Finals at the Toyota Center Thursday night to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series.

“We were suppose to score and I lost the ball, ” Green said to reporters postgame.

More importantly, it puts the defending NBA Champions on the brink of elimination as the series shifts to Oakland for a “win-or-go-home” Game 6 Saturday night at Oracle Arena. Tip off is at 5:00 p.m. PT.

After defeating the Rockets by 41 points in Game 3, the Warriors have lost back-to-back games for the first time this postseason. The postseason is not the best time of year to start going on a losing streak. The Rockets snapped Golden State’s NBA postseason-record 16-game home winning streak in Game 4.

Eric Gordon led the Rockets with 24 points off the bench on 6-of-15 shooting. In fact, the Rockets bench outscored the Warriors’ reserves 33-4 in Game 5. Gordon connected on 9-of-10 from the free throw line.

Chris Paul finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists, but was just 6-of-19 shooting from the floor, including starting 0-of-7 in the first-half. Paul left the game in the final minutes after injuring his right hamstring after coming down on the foot of Warriors’ reserve guard Quinn Cook.

After the game, it was reported that Paul will be re-evaluated Friday and his status for Game 6 is unclear.

James Harden also struggled, shooting just 5-of-21 from the field (0-for-11 on 3s) and finishing with 19 points. Like Gordon, Harden did most of his damage from the free throw line, converting 9-of-9 free throws.

“We had to rely on our defense once again,” Harden said. “Game 4, we weren’t making shots but defensively we were really good. Same thing tonight.”

Center Clint Capela finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the postseason. Capela had three of Houston’s eight offensive rebounds.

As a team, Golden State had just three offensive rebounds.

Four Warriors finished in double-figures, led by Kevin Durant’s team-high 29 points. Klay Thompson added 23, Stephen Curry scored 22 and Green finished with 12 points and 15 rebounds.

Golden State played solid defense, limiting Houston to 37.2-percent shooting from the floor, but the aforementioned 18 turnovers led to 18 points by the Rockets. That can’t happen if you’re a championship team that prides itself on solid execution like Golden State has done during this four-year run under head coach Steve Kerr.

“I feel great about where we are right now,” Kerr said postgame. “I know that sounds crazy but I feel it. I know exactly what I’m seeing out there…we defended them well tonight. Just too many turnovers, too many reaches.

“If we settle down a little bit, we’ll be in really good shape.”

Durant shot 8-of-22 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from behind the three-point arc, and was 10-of-10 from the free throw line. For the series, Durant is perfect at the charity stripe, shooting 37-of-37 from the free throw line.

For the second straight game, the Warriors were without Andre Iguodala who has been dealing with a left knee contusion. Iguodala suffered the injury after bumping knees with Harden in Game 3. Many believe that since Iguodala has been out, it has thrown off the Warriors’ game since Iguodala is who Kerr affectionately calls, the “adult in the room” for his ability to keep the team calm during critical stages of the game.

“He’s dying to play, but he’s not healthy enough,” Kerr said. “We’ll just continue to take it day to day.”

The game itself was a tight one, with no lead greater than six points. At halftime. the game was tied, 45-45 and the two teams stayed within three points of each other throughout the third quarter.

Golden State suffered just their second Game 5 lost in a playoff series since 2015.

If the Warriors were to lose Game 6 on Saturday night, they would miss out the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014.

The Warriors’ backs are firmly pressed against the wall but the defending NBA wouldn’t have it any other way.

Rockets hold off Warriors 95-92 in Game 4, tie West finals at 2-2

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Tuesday, May 22, 2018

On the heels of Houston’s most lopsided NBA playoff loss in team history, the Rockets withstood powerful runs from Golden State and outlasted the Warriors 95-92 in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals at Oracle Arena Tuesday night.

It was the first home court loss for Golden State since 2016. The best-of-seven is tied at 2-2. Game 5 is Thursday at Toyota Center in Houston.

The Rockets surged ahead at 2:27 of the fourth quarter on Eric Gordon’s 3-pointer, as Houston finished with a 21-4 run. Golden State had a chance to tie the game with 0.5 seconds remaining, but Steph Curry’s catch-and-shoot attempt rimmed out at the horn.

Houston held the Warriors to 12 points in the fourth quarter, as Golden State shot a miserable 3-of-18 from the field (17 percent, plus six missed 3-pointers) – its worst shooting quarter of the season, according to ESPN Stats & Info. It also tied the team-low for any postseason quarter since the shot clock was introduced in 1954.

Meanwhile, Paul scored eight of his 27 points in the fourth – 13 in the second half. Harden scored 24 of his 30 points in the first half.

Golden State opened the game with a 12-0 run, but the Rockets’ Chris Paul and James Harden outscored the Warriors 29-18 in the second quarter. Houston led by seven at halftime.

The Warriors, Curry in particular, roared out of the halftime break, outscoring Houston 34-17 in the third quarter, a stretch sparked by five 3-pointers by Curry. Two minutes into the fourth, Golden State led 82-70, but the Warriors also committed 16 turnovers.

Curry led Golden State with 28 points, including 6-of-13 on 3’s. Kevin Durant was next with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Draymond Green was two assists shy of a triple-double, finishing with 11 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and a block.

The Warriors were without Andre Iguodala, who was held out due to a left leg contusion. There’s no word on Iguodala’s status for Game 5.

Rockets soar past Warriors 127-105, evens West Finals 1-1

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

The talk of a potential Warriors’ sweep can be put to rest.

After dropping Game 1 Monday night, the Rockets rebounded with a 127-105 victory over the Warriors in Game 2 at the Toyota Center Wednesday night.

James Harden finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds to help Houston regain home-court in the best-of-7 Western Conference Finals series.

“Guys were more active,” said Harden, who shot 9-of-24 from the floor and just 3-of-15 from 3, postgame to TNT. “We played harder and it showed tonight.”

Eric Gordon, who scored just 15 points in Game 1, exploded with 27 points in Game 2, matching Harden’s output. Gordon shot 8-of-15 from the field, including 6-of-9 on 3s.

The play of P.J. Tucker was big for Houston, scoring a playoff career-high 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting. Tucker was red-hot from 3, knocking down 5-of-6 from behind the arc, bouncing back from a poor Game 1 performance of one point on 0-of-3 from the field.

Trevor Ariza finished with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting and six assists, and Clint Capela finished with five points and 10 rebounds.

Chris Paul scored 16 points and had six assists, after recording just three in Game 1. Paul shot just 6-of-14 from the floor, appeared to be bothered by a lower leg injury in the second half as he ran with a noticeable limp. Paul did sit out most of the fourth quarter when the game was in hand for Houston.

The Rockets dominated Golden State in the second quarter, outscoring the Warriors 38-29.

“We can beat anybody, anywhere at any time playing the way we play,” Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni said.

Sloppy play, lackluster defense and the lack of another scoring option other than Kevin Durant were the main culprits in the loss for Golden State.

As a team, Houston was scorching from three-point land, knocking down 16-of-42 (38.1-percent). Golden State’s perimeter defense against the Rockets was nonexistent in Game 2 from the beginning, allowing the Rockets to drill 10-of-23 3s in the first half. Houston shot 51.4-percent for the game (45-of-88) and out-rebounded Golden State 47-36.

Houston led as much as 19 in the first half and was up 64-50 at halftime. The Warriors did climb back into the game, closing the gap 74-64 behind five points by Durant before Houston increased their lead to 89-72 behind an off-balanced layup by Gordon crashing to the floor, drawing a foul and making a free throw.

Durant finished with a game-high 38 points on 13-of-22 shooting from the floor, but was a one-man band Wednesday night at the Toyota Center for Golden State.

“We’re not the juggernauts of the NBA,” Durant said. “We’re a good team, but that’s a great team on the other end.”

Stephen Curry had another quiet game, scoring 16 points on 7-of-19 shooting from the field, but couldn’t get anything going from three-point range, connecting on 1-of-8 on his 3s. By hitting just one 3, Curry extended his NBA playoff record to 81 games.

In the first two games of the series, Curry is shooting just 2-of-13 on 3s.

Klay Thompson, who had his way with Houston in Game 1 scoring 28 points, was held in check finishing with just eight points on 3-of-11 shooting (2-of-4 on 3s).

Draymond Green finished with just six points, six rebounds and six assists.

“I think a lot of these games when you get in the playoffs with teams that are very talented and really great team, it often comes down to which one has the edge in terms of the aggression and the desperation,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told reporters after the game. “They were desperate tonight, and they played like it. And we didn’t. And the results showed. We got what we deserved. They kicked our butts.”

The Warriors committed 15 turnovers, off of which Houston scored 15 points. Houston 13 points off 11 first-half turnover by Golden State, which in essence, had the Warriors climbing uphill for the entirety of the game.

Golden State shot 45.9-percent for the game (39-of-85) and were ice-cold on 3s, shooting 9-of-30 (30-percent).

But if you’re the Warriors, you’ve accomplished your mission of splitting the first two games in Houston. With the scene shifting to Oakland for Games 3 and 4, Golden State should feel good about where the series stands right now.

Game 3 is Sunday at Oracle Arena with tipoff scheduled for 5 p.m. Pacific.

Following Game 3, the two teams will play Game 4 on Tuesday, before returning to Houston for Game 5 on Thursday.

“Hamptons 5” lineup helped Warriors to 119-106 rout of Rockets in Game 1

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Photo credit: David J. Phillip/Associated Press

By Pearl Allison Lo

The Golden State Warriors started on the road for the first time these 2018 NBA playoffs and won by way of a 119-106 victory over the Rockets Monday at the Toyota Center in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals for a 1-0 series lead.

Golden State’s “Hamptons 5″ lineup consisted of Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, who all combined for 99 points and a +48 rating versus the starting five for the Rockets (85 points and a -30 rating).

Durant posted his second-highest total this postseason with 37 points. On the flip side, Houston’s James Harden’s 41 points tied his second-highest too as he shot his best from the field (58.3%) these 2018 playoffs.  

Harden’s role could not be understated, as he helped or made 23 straight points from 3:10 left in the second to 8:10 left in the third.  

In Durant’s words: “We tried to take the first punch and kept on fighting…stay solid and keep up with each other…play a calm, steady game.”

Rockets’ coach Mike D’Antoni cited “mental lapses” and the need to be “mentally sharper.”

However, the separation between the teams did not occur until the third quarter.

At the end of the first half, both were dead even and just one point away after the first quarter.

Harden scored the first nine points for Houston (9-2 run) with a variety of shots, including two three-pointers and a technical free throw, courtesy of Green.

The Rockets got a scare when Harden left the court with 3:17 left in the first after Kevon Looney inadvertently stepped on his right foot.

The Warriors got their first lead (35-33) with 9:03 left in the second and then the teams wrestled back and forth until Golden State emerged the winner.

Houston used a 7-0 run to tie the game again with 1:51 left.

Golden State did not get their first free throws until 1:28 left in the half.

Almost ending the first half the way he started, Harden made his team’s last three shots for a total of 13 points in the second. Trevor Ariza, Green and Iguodala ended the half with three fouls.

Foul trouble would continue.

In the third, Ariza had to sit out with 9:35 left when he got his fifth foul.

After Iguodala made the second free throw, both teams traded baskets (seven of them interrupted) until 5:50 left when the Warriors went on a 10-2 run spurred by Thompson’s three. Stephen Curry either assisted with or hit eight of the points.

The Rockets put together an 8-0 run with two threes and two free throws near the end of the third, pulling to within four with a three (11:44 left in the fourth).

However, Golden State countered with a 7-2 run two minutes later to keep their lead.

Game Notes: Houston’s Chris Paul had a game-high 11 rebounds, Green a game-high nine assists and +19 and Thompson a game-high six threes.

Up Next: Game 2 will take place Wednesday at 6 pm PT. 

Opinion: Defensive issues cause Warriors to get run over by Pelicans 119-100 in Game 3

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Photo credit: @NBCSWarriors

By: Eric He

If the Golden State Warriors were looking to coast their way to the Western Conference Finals, the New Orleans Pelicans just reminded them that it won’t be all smooth sailing.

The Warriors fell 119-100 to the Pelicans on Friday in Game 3 on the road, and their lead in the series is now at 2-1. They were outplayed from beginning to end by New Orleans, never establishing their game and failing to mount a second-half comeback.

Instead, it was the Anthony Davis show. the Pelicans’ star recorded 33 points and 18 rebounds, having his way inside. The Pelicans shot 45.2 percent from 3-point range, giving the Warriors a dose of their own medicine. Davis dominated JaVale McGee, who got the start despite receiving minimal playing time in the first two games. McGee played just nine minutes and had a plus-minus of -10.

The Warriors had four starters in double figures, but found no rhythm offensively. They trailed by six points at halftime, but in the third quarter, when they typically make their push, it was the Pelicans who went on a run and outscored the Warriors by 11. New Orleans led by 17 points after three quarters.

But the issue was more on the defensive end. The Warriors were slow on rotations and allowed clean looks from distance. Jrue Holiday and Nikola Mirotic both provided supplemental scoring, while Ian Clark had 18 points off the bench.

Now, the Warriors would do themselves a huge favor by winning Game 4 and returning home with a 3-1 series lead. Otherwise, a series that felt like it was over after Game 2 may last longer than expected.

Warriors fend off Spurs’ comeback to win 99-91 in Game 5 and advance to Western Conference Semifinals

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Pearl Allison Lo

In the first game of the series in which neither the Golden State Warriors or the San Antonio Spurs scored 100 points, the Warriors prevailed in Game 5 with a 99-91 win at Oracle Arena on Tuesday night.

Golden State won the series 4-1 and led this contest ever since 10:49 left in the second. Their lead went up as much at 16 points. However, San Antonio got to within a layup’s distance with 57.2 seconds remaining in the game.

After a lackluster first half, the Spurs’ LaMarcus Aldridge scored 25 of his 30 points in the second half. His Warriors’ counterpart, Kevin Durant, scored 17 of his 25 in the same time span.

After the 91-93 score, Durant replied with a two-point field goal after the timeout. Manu Ginobili lost the ball out of bounds and fouled Durant. Durant made his free throws and after another timeout, missed three straight beyond the arc attempts. Draymond Green got the rebound, Ginobili fouled him and the game ended with Green making free throws.

Aldridge also had 12 rebounds, Patty Mills scored 18 with four three-pointers, Klay Thompson scored 24 points, Green had a double-double of 17 points and 19 rebounds and Green and Ginobili each had a game-high seven assists.

The Warriors began with a 9-0 run until Aldridge got the Spurs their first points with 8:33 left. This was the start of an 8-0 run for San Antonio. Aldridge also had the first of the period’s three ties when he scored with 3:45 left. Ginobili gave San Antonio their only lead of the first with 1:58 left.

The Spurs had only one lead in the second also, with Rudy Gay making the first shot of the quarter. Starting with 8:54 left, San Antonio missed seven straight attempts while losing the ball twice in three minutes. Meanwhile, Thompson scored nine of his 11 points in the quarter, making nine of the team’s first 11 points. David West scored the other basket and its assist going to Thompson.

Thompson led with 17 after the first half, the only one in double-digits. Tied behind him was Mills and Gay with nine points apiece. From the field, the Spurs shot 31.1 % versus 47.6% for Golden State. The Warriors led 10-0 in fast break points.

The pace went up for both teams in the third. Golden State added to their fast break advantage with nine more points.

Next: The Western Conference Semifinals with the #2 seeded Golden State facing former Coach Alvin Gentry and the #6 seeded New Orleans Pelicans.