For the second straight contest, the Golden State Warriors have had the chance to eliminate the Houston Rockets and advance to the second round of the postseason. Yet, the Rockets won’t go away that easily. After suffering a blowout loss in Game 5 on Wednesday, the Warriors went ice cold at Chase Center on Friday in Game 6.
With the Warriors struggling to find the bottom of the net, the Rockets did enough to hold on for a 115-107 win on Friday night in San Francisco. After falling down 3-1, the Rockets have ripped off a pair of impressive wins in elimination games to force a Game 7 on Sunday night back in Houston.
For the third straight game, the Warriors had no answer for Rockets veteran guard Fred VanVleet. VanVleet led the Rockets with 29 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field with six made 3-pointers. VanVleet has scored 25 or more points in three consecutive games with at least four made triples in each game.
The frontcourt duo of Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams continued to bother the Warriors, combining for 38 points and 19 rebounds in Game 6.
While the Rockets led for most of the game, the Warriors were able to cut Houston’s advantage down to two points at the end of the third quarter.
Yet, a disastrous fourth quarter for the Warriors allowed the Rockets to coast to the finish. Despote leading the Warriors with 29 points in the game, Steph Curry tallied three points on 1-of-7 shooting from the field in the fourth quarter.
Jimmy Butler added a near triple-double performance with 27 points on 7-of-17 shooting from the field to go along with nine boards and eight assists in 42 minutes.
Moses Moody (13) and Brandin Podziemski (10) were the only other Warriors to score in double figures.
Draymond Green, Buddy Hield, Gary Payton II and Quinten Post combined for 7-of-23 shooting from the field. Hield finished the game scoreless, missing all four of his attempts from the floor in 17 minutes.
The Warriors will return to Houston for a win-or-go-home Game 7 on Sunday.
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