The Golden State Warriors are in the NBA Finals for the fourth time in a row. In game 7 at the Houston Rockets, the Dubs started negligently and quickly fell behind, but they could rely on their strong third quarter and their star trio of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson. The Warriors won 101-92.
No Andre Iguodala for the Warriors and especially no Chris Paul for the Rockets in this game, but the hosts took an incredibly aggressive approach to game 7. The Dubs had already collected four fouls after 72 seconds, two of them for Klay Thompson, but he wanted to stay in the game. Nevertheless, it was an unbelievable nervous start, where both teams had already lost 7 balls after 3 minutes.
A little later, James Harden netted his stepback threesome and gave Thompson another foul. The hall was now of course there and the Rockets used this to eight points in one piece. Houston, however, missed out on further distance because they were unable to exploit some open threesomes. So Harden with his Drives was Houston’s best option and he quickly had 14 points. The Warriors, on the other hand, hadn’t really arrived after a quarter and were trailing 19:24.
Steve Kerr was pissed off, but things got a little better. Now it was Eric Gordon who revealed the gaps in the guest defense and the Rockets even expanded the lead with Harden on the bench. Golden State could not keep up with the intensity, while Harden now diligently threw praise for Clint Capela. In the middle of the quarter the lead had increased to 14 points (44:30). Especially at the board P.J. Tucker and Capela raged like madmen and showed unbelievable will, which went out of the dubs in this phase. But: As weak as the Warriors were, the gap was only 11 points (43:54), because Thompson and later Curry made some plays.
Houston had to survive the expected rush of the Warriors in the third section. However, it did not help that the hosts had missed the last 18 triples, with Golden State regaining the lead after Curry and Durant’s triples. Houston lost a bit of focus and complained especially about the refs, which let a lot go through during this phase.
The Rockets had other problems. On the one hand, even the best litters did not fall any more and then Curry was unstoppable. The Heatcheck threesomes fell and so the chef made 11 points in a row and Houston saw the skins swimming away like in game 6. The Warriors led before the final section with 76:69.
Harden tried to take over now, but the bearded man had too little support from the cold shooters, causing Golden State to clog the zone. The Warriors had finally found their rhythm, Curry and Durant sunk one heavy threesome after the other, so that the fans in Texas apparently lost hope after a few minutes in the quarter.
But the team hadn’t given up yet and attacked the basket more energetically. Gordon had the lion’s share of a 7-0 run, but Golden State had the right answer with a Thompson three-pointer and only narrowed the lead to a maximum of 7 points.
At Golden State, as so often in this series, the Big Three overtook Curry (27 points, 9 rebounds, 10 assists), Thompson (19, 8/13 FG) and Durant (34). For the Rockets, the backcourt around Harden (32, 12/29 FG) and Gordon (23, 9/22 FG) scored the most points. They were supported by Capela (20, 9 rebounds) and Tucker (14, 12 rebounds), while the Bank of Rockets provided just 3 points (Warriors: 7).
Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors 92:101, series 3:4 (BOXSCORE)
Mike D’Antoni (Head Coach Rockets): “We were close this year and we will try again next year. We’ll keep knocking on the door until it opens.”
Sometimes it’s just unfair to play Curry. Golden State let his star run more into the corner in the third quarter and from there he is deadly like no other player. When the heat checks are also in place, it becomes bitter for every opponent. In half time one, Curry showed his abilities as a playmaker and was an important factor that the gap was not too big in the first 24 minutes.
The roll just didn’t want to fall. 0/12 out of the field (0/9 threesome) was one of the killers for the Rockets in this game. Most of his litters were very free, but it was simply not his evening. His defense against Green and Durant, some of which was outstanding, almost completely fell by the wayside. Also weak: Harden, who completely submerged in the fourth quarter in the meantime.
It was very brave what Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni tried already in the first quarter. Ryan Anderson and a little later Joe Johnson saw minutes in the first quarter, making Houston and Gerald Green incredibly vulnerable in the field. It still worked properly, because Golden State had far too little shooting without Thompson and the Rockets could send help over and over again. Another side effect: The starters got more breaks due to the slightly larger rotation. But: After the break the Dubs understood how to attack Anderson and Curry punished this consistently in one-on-one. After that the avalanche was unstoppable for the Rockets.