Warriors flip switch in 2nd half, force Game 7 in Western Conference final

OAKLAND - The Warriors stared at the end of their dynasty and said no to that.

They were in a valley of despair, down 17 points, and fought way up the hill to the sunshine and blue sky and refreshing breeze. They took over in the third quarter, like they do. Outscored the Houston Rockets 33-16 in the third, 31-9 in the fourth and won 115-86. Forced a seventh game in Houston Monday night - a great achievement. Something to be proud of, even though the Rockets didn't have their star point guard, Chris Paul, in Game 6.

Without Paul to run the offense, the Rockets had just 13 assists and a whopping 21 turnovers. They fell apart. Couldn't shoot. Couldn't defend. Couldn't keep up with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, the Splash Brothers, who outscored the Rockets 37-25 during the second half and put the game away.

Curry finished with 29 points and five 3s. Thompson finished with 35 points and nine 3s -tied for the second-most 3s in a playoff game ever, second to himself. Thompson set the record against the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game 6 of the 2016 Western Conference final when he hit 11 3s. The Warriors were facing elimination down 3-2 in that game, just like Saturday night.

“Klay doesn't worry about repercussions,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “He doesn't worry about judgment and results. The pressure doesn't seem to bother him much. He just competes and plays. The two-way ability of this guy, hounding the MVP of the league most likely, all game, and continuing to rain down 3-pointers, he's amazing.”

The MVP of the league most likely will be James Harden, who shot 10 of 24 from the field, scored 32 points and had nine assists and nine turnovers. Thompson made his life miserable.

Harden needed help. No one else on the Rockets had more than two assists or 19 points. Usually, Paul helps Harden. They share the burden of scoring and passing. But Paul sat out with a sore right hamstring, an injury he suffered at the end of Game 5.

“He'll play as soon as he can,” Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni said before the game. “He's going to play as soon as he's able to walk or run. He is getting treatments around the clock. You never know; the body heals at different rates.”

The Warriors were without one of their starters, too - Andre Iguodala. He missed his third game in a row with a left lateral leg contusion. “We're operating under the assumption he will not play in Game 7,” Kerr said. “It's a bone bruise. There's not a timetable. It's more up to the individual and how he's feeling, and we don't really know.”

The Warriors are 1-4 against the Rockets without Iguodala this season.

Before Game 6, a reporter asked Kerr if he expected the Warriors to show their championship pedigree Saturday night. “When you've been through things together, adversity, you have a deeper level of confidence,” Kerr said. “Our guys have been through a lot. I think we'll be ready to play.”

But the Warriors weren't ready to play, not at first. Kerr didn't have them prepared.

The Rockets made eight 3-pointers during the first quarter, and the Warriors made just one. The Rockets scored 19 fast-break points in the first, and the Warriors scored just four. The Rockets took the fight to the Warriors and the Warriors backed down.

Harden was the best player on the court - he had 15 points, four rebounds and four assists. The Warriors' best player, Kevin Durant, shot 1 for 6 from the field and had seven points. He finished with 23 points on 17 shots. The Rockets ended the first quarter on a 20-5 run, and led 39-22 when the second quarter began.

“The one positive of Houston getting off to that start was the pace was high,” Kerr said. “I didn't like the poor defense we were playing, but I liked the pace.”

The Rockets couldn't keep it up. They scored only 47 points after the first quarter. They ran themselves out of the game.

“I'm sure they did,” D'Antoni said. “But, so be it. This is the playoffs, and some guys are going to get tired. We have to fight through it.”

D'Antoni has played only seven players the majority of this series - he lacks confidence in most of his bench against the Warriors. He's caught in a bind, like a knight fork in chess. And he's paying the price for his short rotation.

The Rockets had nothing left in the second half. They had a 10-point lead, but it disappeared instantly as the Warriors went on an 11-0 run to start the third quarter. The Rockets couldn't respond. Harden scored 10 points in the third, but the rest of the Rockets scored only six, while the Splash Brothers alone scored 21 and made seven 3s.

“They're champs,” D'Antoni said. “They're going to come back fighting, and they did. They did their part. I like where we are. We were in the Bahamas last July or August, with the guys. If someone told us we'd get the seventh game on our home court against Golden State, would we sign up for it? Yeah, we'd sign up right there.”

The Rockets played all season for home-court advantage. They got it now. What can they do?