After six tight-knit games, the battle between the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors finally boiled down to a Game 7.
The Rockets had all the momentum, rattling off two consecutive wins after being down 3-1 in the series. Following a gritty Game 6 that saw the Rockets stave off elimination on Golden State’s home court, Draymond Green, set the message straight with a passionate speech for the deciding Game 7.
“I wanted to come out and prove again just who I am—with poise, but with the same fire, same tenacity. I think I delivered that and gave our guys something to follow,” Green said. “That was the message, that was the goal and we got it done.”
On the road, the Dubs came out firing with energy, even from the most unlikeliest of postseason heroes.
Buddy Hield delivered a signature performance, draining nine triples on a 12-15 shooting night, posting a playoff career-high 33 points to lift the Warriors to a 103-89 win over the Rockets in Game 7.
Amen Thompson led the Rockets with 24 points, while Alperen Sengun finished with a 21-point, 14-rebound double-double. Fred VanVleet finished with 17 points after a strong performance in Game 6.
The Dubs opened up the game hot, quickly cracking double-digit points three minutes into the game. Green continued his streak of delivering in Game 7’s, knocking down two threes while Brandin Podziemski added another.
The Rockets were able to battle back, forcing a 13-13 tie after efficient scoring in the paint from Sengun and Thompson.
Later in the quarter, Jalen Green made an and-one layup to give Houston a 19-17 lead with just over a minute remaining in the opening frame. That two-point lead was Houston’s only lead for the entire game, lasting for 13 seconds.
Hield quickly drained a triple on the ensuing possession to give the lead back to the Dubs. Houston played catch-up for the remainder of the game. To cap off the quarter, Hield launched from 42-feet out and sank a buzzer-beater from just beyond the half-court line to give Golden State a 23-19 lead at the end of the quarter.
“When I shot it, I knew I had a chance. I didn’t know it was going in—I knew I had a chance,” Hield said. “When that went in, that just helped me relax. I didn’t celebrate too much because I know we had three more quarters to go.”
The Dubs carried the momentum from Hield’s half-court heave into the second quarter. They quickly opened up a double-digit lead with under three minutes in the quarter before rattling off a 12-8 run to close out the quarter.
Hield sank three triples on three consecutive possessions, before Curry scored his first points of the game with 33 seconds to play. Golden State rode that scoring run to a 12-point advantage at the half.
The three-point deficit would be the closest Houston got to overcoming the lead. Golden State closed out the quarter with two Green buckets and a Butler triple to take an eight-point lead into the final frame.
It was all Golden State from there. Curry scored 14 points in the fourth quarter alone, and the Dubs outscored the Rockets 33-27 in the quarter. Hield made another three with eight minutes to play to give the Warriors a 10-point lead, and they never looked back. The Rockets failed to cut the deficit to single-digits.
In a fitting end, Golden State’s final bucket was a deep three by Hield, capping off his signature performance.
The story of the game was Golden State’s offensive efficiency from beyond the arc. The Dubs shot 41.9% from three and drained 18 triples, while Houston struggled, only knocking down six threes. Houston also shot 40.5% from the field, but missed easy opportunities inside the paint.
With the series win, Golden State has now eliminated the Rockets from the playoffs for the fifth time since 2015.
The Warriors will now match up against Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round. But for now, they’re going to enjoy their victory on the road.
“We were lucky to get out of this series,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I’m not talking about Minnesota right now, we’ll talk about them tomorrow. We’re just gonna enjoy the win tonight, spend the night and we’ll get ready for Minnesota tomorrow.”
