HOUSTON (AP) – Buddy Hield has become a hero of the improbable playoff series for the Golden State Warriors, leading the team at the start of the 7 match against the Houston Rockets before Stephen Curry resumed late.
Curry scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, Hield made nine points of 3 points and scored 33 points, and the Warriors qualified for the semi-finals of the West Conference with a victory of 103-89 against the Rockets of Houston on Sunday evening.
“We had the chance to get out of this series,” said Golden State coach Steve Kerr. “It was an incredibly impressive demonstration of resolution.”
The Warriors will face the Timberwolves Tuesday evening at Minnesota.
After not having scored in match 6, Hield had a scorching first half with six points at 3 points and 22 points to bring the Warriors to a 12-point lead, Curry marking only three points before the break. Then Curry took over in the last minutes And interpreted his gesture as a signature “night” while the Warriors put the rockets.
“It was not just a light shooting performance for Buddy,” said Kerr. “It was a double -meaning performance. I thought her defense was fantastic. ”
The Warriors have become the seventh seeded n ° 7 in the history of the NBA to qualify for the semi-finals and eliminated Houston in the playoffs for the fifth time. They sent the Rockets led by James Harden four times between 2015 and 2019.
None of the players in these teams stay with Houston, which led Fred Vanvleet to say before the series that “it’s not this team”.
Draymond Green, who helped beat the Rockets of Match 7 in 2018 to qualify for the NBA final, mentioned Vanvleet’s quote before continuing.
“It is however this organization,” he said. “We like to come in town to play in these situations. It was good for us. ”
Hield was 9 out of 11 on a 3 -point beach, establishing an NBA record for a match 7 and making more than 3s than the Rockets, which were 6 out of 18 in long range.
“I’m just trying to enter the moment and savor the moment and be just at the same time,” said Hield. “I’m just trying to be myself. But tonight was fun.”
Curry added 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Amen Thompson scored 24 points to lead Houston, which forced match 7 with two consecutive victories but could not put the experienced warriors.
“We had our chances in this series,” said Rockets coach Ime Udoka. “We all expected to continue playing, so it’s a disappointment. It will bite now, but use it as motivation and let’s all get better.”
Golden State led by eight entering the fourth and opened a quarter with a sequence of 5-0, capped by a Curry 3, to do it 75-62.
Houston scored the next six points, but the Warriors used a 7-2 thrust with four curry points to make 82-70 with approximately seven minutes.
Curry made a disputed 3, rebounded a rider missed by Thompson and found Hield for an open corner 3 which made 94-74 with 2:31.
This has sent many fans of rockets dressed in red in streaming for outings.
Jimmy Butler added 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Warriors, who have improved at 28-11 since its beginnings on February 8 after an exchange of Miami.
Vanvleet scored 55 points combined in the last two games to help Houston extend the series. But it was limited to 17 points on 6 on 13 Sunday shots to send the Rockets to the second seeded at the start of their first trip to the playoffs since 2020.
He was far from being the only rocket that had trouble. The great man Alperen Sengun collected 21 points and 14 rebounds. But he missed several easy shots during a 9 night out of 23.
Jalen Green, who had 38 points to lead Houston to a victory in match 2, finished with eight points.
“The first playoffs are not apologies,” he said. “I must be better.”
The Warriors played without the key reserve Gary Payton II, who sat with an illness which, according to coach Steve Kerr, had “sick as a dog”.
Draymond Green added 16 points for the Warriors, who obtained a score of four duplicate runners.
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