Steph Curry, Warriors advance, eliminate Rockets with 103-89 victory

Buddy Hield stepped up, and the Warriors fought off Amen Thompson, Rockets in Game 7.

The Golden State Warriors defeated the Houston Rockets 103-89 in a winner-take-all Game 7. Once again, a Steph Curry-led Warriors squad ended a Rockets season in Houston. While it took longer than they would have liked, the Warriors got the job done and are heading to the Western Conference Semifinals.

Golden State jumped out to an 8-2 lead. As has been commonplace throughout the series, Draymond Green was aggressive taking open shots early and quickly made a pair of threes and a layup. However, a dry spell soon followed and the Rockets answered with a 15-6 run of their own.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr’s biggest Game 7 adjustment had come from the bench. With Gary Payton II out, there was a heavier dose of Kevon Looney, as well as Jonathan Kuminga’s first rotation minutes since Jimmy Butler III returned from injury.

Kuminga had a decent showing rebounding and defensively, but a pair of offensive miscues left him justifiably back on the bench in the fourth quarter. Looney was solid in 11 minutes of action, but it would be the veteran core of Curry, Green, and Butler, with a massive performance by Buddy Hield that led the way.

Curry missed a couple of open threes early, which put pressure on the rest of the Warriors to pick up the slack early. Butler and Brandin Podziemski both remained hesitant to call their own numbers, often kicking out to the perimeter instead of attacking inside with space.

The Warriors defense bought their offense some time. They continued deploying a “tandem” 2-3 zone locked down the Rockets defensively, holding them to just 19 points in the quarter and 39 in the first half.

Hield, who was reinserted into the starting lineup, finally showed some life late in the first quarter. Hield made a corner three off of an exquisite no-look over-the-head pass from Curry before knocking down a buzzer-beater from just inside the half-court line to put the Warriors ahead 23-19 at the end of the quarter.

That was only the beginning. Hield caught fire in the second quarter and finished the first half 8-for-9 from the field (6-for-7 from three) with 22 points. Hield’s outside shooting allowed the Dubs to build a double-digit lead despite getting zero points from Curry until the final minute of the first half.

Yet, Steph’s impact was obvious. The Rockets dedication to Curry in their zone continued giving other Warriors open space from three. While Moses Moody badly missed a pair of open looks, Hield was feeling it and consistently capitalized.

With a diminished scoring role, Curry brought a locked-in intensity to every other aspect of the game. At the half, Curry had game-highs in defensive rebounds (6), assists (5), steals (1), and blocks (2). He was ferocious defensively, fought for loose balls, and avoided unforced errors.

Green was also locked in, bouncing back from lackadaisical efforts in Games 5 and 6. He had 10 points, his first double-digit scoring performance of the series, in the first half alone, and had held Alperen Şengün to 8 points on 10 field-goal attempts.

Yet, Green’s lack of discipline also showed up. As the Warriors were taking control, Green was fouled by Fred VanVleet and unnecessarily followed through on a pass with his hand to hit VanVleet in the face. VanVleet went down and referees reviewed the play and gave Green a technical foul.

Curry finally got on the scoreboard in the final minute of the first half, knocking down a logo three on a shot he thought he was fouled on. Despite being held to just three points, Curry was able to walk into the half with a 51-39 lead.

On the other end, it was young Amen Thompson leading the charge for the Rockets. Already one of the most dominant on-ball defensive players in the league, Thompson has been consistently making a bigger impact offensively over the course of the series. With his team facing elimination, Thompson turned up his aggressiveness.

Thompson led a 14-4 run early in the third quarter, and soon the Rockets deficit was down to just three points. He finished with a Rockets-high 24 points alongside 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. If there’s one takeaway from the series for the Rockets, it’s that Thompson may be a more important player to build around than Şengün.

With Houston back within one possession, Butler knocked down a massive corner three that sparked a 5-0 Golden State run to finish the third quarter. The Dubs were ahead 70-62 heading into the final quarter.

Hield’s hot shooting had pushed the Rockets back into man-to-man defense in the third quarter. Houston kept Hield quiet and were able to keep Curry out of most actions.

At the start of the fourth quarter, the Warriors isolated Curry. The Rockets had been forced back into a more heavy dose of man-to-man defense by Hield’s hot shooting night. Curry had also been given a brief breather at the end of the third quarter.

On the first possession, Steph drove by Jabari Smith Jr. for a layup. On the next, a cramp in Thompson’s left calf led him to pull back for a second and Curry knocked down a three. The Warriors were back ahead by 13.

Thompson went to the bench trying to deal with his cramp. Rockets head coach Ime Udoka redeployed Steven Adams and the two big man lineup, dropping back into a zone. Shortly thereafter, Hield converted another wide-open three. Then, Curry beat Adams in a double team off the dribble for a layup to put Golden State back ahead by 12.

Golden State had another dry spell offensively when Thompson returned, but the Warriors dominant defense kept the Rockets from making a significant run. The Rockets were able to briefly cut the deficit to single-digits, but costly turnovers and threes by Hield and Curry put the game away.

Curry finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, and just 2 turnovers on 8-for-16 shooting from the field (4-for-10 from three). While the point total is far from exceptional for the franchise icon, it was one of his best all-around performances in recent memory.

Butler had his own solid all-around game, finishing with a quiet 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. Green had his best statistical performance of the series with 16 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal.

The Warriors three star veterans were able to focus their energies elsewhere because of Hield’s career night. An NBA veteran with barely any playoff experience, Hield scored a game-high 33 points on an incredibly efficient 12-for-15 shooting from the field (9-for-11 from three).

The rest of the Dubs, including Podz, were just 5-for-23 from the field. It was the most experienced Warriors who got the job done.

After securing the 4-3 first-round series victory, the Dubs will immediately begin preparing to face the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Semifinals. Game 1 will be in Minnesota on Tuesday, where the Warriors will try to overcome a massive rest disadvantage, as the Wolves haven’t played since Wednesday.