VanVleet and Thompson lead the way as Rockets avoid removal,
HOUSTON (AP) Pushed to the verge of removal, the Houston Rockets provided a playoff gem Wednesday night to beat the Golden State Warriors and keep their season alive.
Fred VanVleet scored 26 points, Amen Thompson included 25 and the Firecrackers extended their first-round playoff series with a 131-116 thrashing in Video game 5.
“Nobody wants to go home,” Alperen Sengun stated.
Video game 6 is Friday in San Francisco.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr threw in the towel early in this one with the game out of hand. A layup by VanVleet midway through the 3rd quarter made it 93-64, and Kerr called timeout and cleared his bench.
Houston coach Ime Udoka did the same with about a minute to go in the 3rd and his team up 105-76. He put all his beginners back in with about eight minutes left after Golden State cut the cause 109-92.
Dillon Brooks included 24 points on a night when all five Houston starters scored in double figures.
VanVleet, a nine-year veteran who won a title versus Golden State while with Toronto in 2019, tried to encourage his young teammates by reminding them that they’ve been in every game.
“Keep whatever light and fresh and confident and comprehend that we have played excellent basketball,” he stated. “It’s not like we were getting our (curse) kicked the whole time.”
A 9-5 run by the Warriors got them within 114-101 before a fracas caught about four minutes to go. Pat Spencer pushed Brooks and after that was ejected after headbutting Alperen Sengun in the taking place scuffle.
Houston went on a 7-2 follow that to put the game away.
“Houston was fantastic and they took it to us right now,” Kerr stated. “But like I said, it was an important finish.”
Reserve Moses Moody led the Warriors with 25 points. Golden State’s 76 bench points were one of the most in a championship game for the franchise given that 1970-71, when starters began being tracked.
The Firecrackers assembled their finest efficiency this postseason after losing both games in California, including Video game 3, which Jimmy Butler remained with an injury.
“We came out aggressive, carried out offensively and defensively,” Jalen Green stated. “We had a professional method and managed organization.”
The Firecrackers raced to a 14-point lead after one quarter and by the time Stephen Curry made his first basket on a 3-pointer midway through the 2nd, they led 55-32.
They had a 27-point lead at halftime behind 19 points from VanVleet.
Butler managed simply 8 points in 25 minutes on 2-of-10 shooting after integrating for 52 points in the two full games he ‘d played in this series.
Curry was 4 of 12 for 13 points after scoring more than 30 points in 2 of the very first 4 games to move the Warriors within a game of clinching the series.
The Warriors made 15 of 44 3-pointers and shot 41.7% general. The Rockets made 13 of 30 threes and shot 55.1%.
By extending the series, the Rockets have a possibility to become the 14th group in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-seven series. Houston has done it twice, most recently in the 2015 Western Conference semifinals versus the Clippers.
The Warriors were on the incorrect end of such a comeback, losing the 2016 NBA Finals to LeBron James and Cleveland after having a 3-1 advantage.
Golden State has actually dominated the Rockets in the playoffs, removing them 4 times between 2015 and 2019.
— AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA