We're going to Game 7!
The Golden State Warriors refused to go out on their home floor, dominating the Houston Rockets in Game 6, with a 115-86 win .
Houston started the game on a mission, exploding to a 39-22 lead after the first quarter, but the Warriors slowly got into their groove, taking over the second half on both ends, outscoring the Rockets 64-25 in the final 24 minutes.
Klay Thompson led the way with 35 points , including a scorching 9-of-14 from the three-point line, while Steph Curry added 29 points and Kevin Durant 23.
For Houston, James Harden led all scorers with 32 points, nine assists, seven rebounds, turning the ball over nine times.
With the series now heading back to Houston, here are three takeaways from today's action:
Rockets turnovers prove costly
21 turnovers against the Warriors is a recipe for disaster and Golden State made the Rockets pay. Defensively, the Warriors were solid, applying on-ball pressure and getting out on the break, but the Rockets will be kicking themselves, with many of the turnovers coming on broken plays and unforced errors.
Golden State turned 21 turnovers into 23 points on the night.
Harden had nine turnovers himself and without Chris Paul he was tasked with the majority of the ball handling, which allowed the Warriors to zero in on him. The Rockets' ball movement was nowhere to be found in this one, tallying just 13 assists on 31 made field goals.
More #Rockets Trevor Ariza following game 6 loss. Said turnovers (obviously) were a huge problem tonight. @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/7OQQRA0w8U
— Adam Wexler (@KPRC2AdamW) May 27, 2018
Dubs' monster third quarter
You know it's coming, but how do you stop it?
The Warriors put on a show in the third quarter (again), outscoring the Rockets 33-16, to turn a 10-point half-time deficit into a seven-point lead entering the fourth.
In their three wins this series, Golden State has outscored Houston by an average of 11.3 points in third quarters.
Klay Thompson had the hot hand with 12 of his 35 points in the period, but it was wave after wave as Durant and Curry found their rhythm as well. When all three are firing like that, the Warriors are virtually unstoppable.
There's just something about Klay in elimination Game 6's.
Klay (26 PTS) scores 12 in the 3rd!#NBAPlayoffs | #DubNation pic.twitter.com/9qxlakhk5h
— NBA (@NBA) May 27, 2018
Short roatation comes back to bite
Even with Chris Paul sidelined, Mike D'Antoni kept his rotation short, with just seven players hitting the court through the first three-and-a-half quarters.
The tired legs showed in the third, with some poor shot selection and sloppy turnovers allowing the Warriors to push the tempo and blow the game open.
Midway through the fourth, Joe Johnson and Ryan Anderson entered the game but it was all too late as the Rockets let the lead balloon to 20+ points and any chance of a comeback was extinguished.
The offence was tired as the Rockets' ran out of options, scoring just 25 points in the second half and just nine in the fourth quarter.
Here's the final minute count for Houston's starters:
- James Harden (40 mins)
- Trevor Ariza (39 mins)
- P.J. Tucker (37 mins)
- Eric Gordon (33 Mins)
- Clint Capela (29 mins)