After enduring a wretched first half offensively that saw their superstar backcourt struggle mightily from the field, the Houston Rockets found their stroke and held off the Golden State Warriors 98-94 in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals.
The Rockets are now one win away from being the first team other than the Warriors to represent the West in the NBA Finals since 2014.
Down 96-94, the Warriors had an opportunity to go full-court out of a timeout with 6.7 seconds remaining to tie or take the lead but squandered the possession when Draymond Green couldn’t handle an advance pass from Stephen Curry. The ball squirted away in the direction of Eric Gordon, who was immediately fouled and sank the two free throw attempts to seal the game.
Neither James Harden (4-for-13 from the field in the first half) nor Chris Paul (0-for-7) could find his stroke prior to halftime, with the pair combining to miss all 10 of their 3-point attempts.
But ever resourceful, Harden and Paul each discovered a rich source of production following intermission — the free throw line for Harden, and the 3-point line for Paul. Paul, who left in the closing minute with an apparent hamstring injury, finished the night with 20 points, while Harden scored 19 points in total on 5-for-21 shooting (0-for-11 from 3-point range).
Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni again opted for a short seven-man rotation, and the supporting cast for Houston helped bolster their struggling leaders in the first half, and maintained their poise in the second. Center Clint Capela proved once again Houston can play big even when the Warriors downsize.