The Golden State Warriors have to win Game 7 against the Houston Rockets for a chance at the NBA Finals for the fourth year in a row. Whoever wins must face LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Golden State Warriors have to win Game 7 against the Houston Rockets for a chance at the NBA Finals for the fourth year in a row. Whoever wins must face LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Rockets came out hot, just as they did in Game 6, outscoring the Warriors 24-19 in the first quarter. Each team had their share of turnovers and both the Warriors and Rockets had opportunities to score off of turnover possessions. The Warriors had six turnovers in the first quarter. « That was one of the worst quarters of basketball we’ve ever played and we’re only down by five, » said Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr to a TNT reporter just before the start of the second quarter. « If we can get our act together we’ll be fine. »The Warriors trailed the Rockets by 11 points at the half, with the score settling at 54-43. The Warriors trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half Saturday night before using a splendid second half to roll to a 115-86 victory. Curry knows that if the Warriors hope to return to the finals for the fourth straight year they’ll have to get off to a better start in Game 7. »I guarantee if we start the game out like we did (Saturday) and they jump out to the lead, it’s going to be 10 times harder to make it a game, » Curry said. « So for us that’s our challenge to have the same mentality we had for the last 36 minutes of (Game 6) and bring that from the jump in Game 7. »The Rockets aren’t dwelling on their missed opportunity to close out the series as they get ready for Monday’s game where they’ll try to punch their ticket to finals for the first time since winning back-to-back titles in 1995-95. They might have to do it without star Chris Paul, who is dealing with a strained right hamstring that kept him out of Game 6. Coach Mike D’Antoni said Sunday that he’s continuing to receive treatment and his status for Game 7 will likely be a game-time decision. James Harden, who had 22 points in the first half on Saturday night but just 10 the rest of the way, insists that the Rockets remain confident despite the blowout loss and are up to Monday’s challenge. »There’s no pressure. It’s an opportunity, an opportunity that we all are excited to be a part of, » he said. « Game 7 at our house, that’s what we’ve worked the entire regular season for (is) to get home-court advantage. So we’re going to come out and be ready. »
