The Golden State Warriors have not made it easier for themselves, but they officially pass the next round.
The Warriors, after huge halves of Buddy Hield and Stephen Curry, put Houston's Rockets on Sunday evening to officially close their series of opening playoff series. The Warriors held the hand to win a 103-89 victory over the Rockets of Match 7 at the Toyota Center, which gave them the victory of the 4-3 series and sent them to the semi-final of the West Conference for the third time in the last four seasons.
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The victory also allowed the Warriors to avoid becoming the 14th team in the History of the NBA to blow up an advance in the 3-1 series, which they did during the 2016 NBA finals.
After a tightened first quarter and a poor half-time in the first half of Curry, the Warriors took a 12-point lead while they entered the locker room. It was thanks to Hield, which was almost unstoppable.
Hield collected 22 points in the first two quarters while pulling 6 out of 7 behind the arc. All the 3 points manufactured except one also came to the second quarter, and he struck his series in high points before half-time. Hield helped the Warriors set up a 16-2 race in the second quarter. Curry did not hit his first bucket until the last minute when he finally dropped a 3 -point pointer.
But, while Hield's hot sequence ended in the third quarter, the Warriors offensive. The Rockets set up a fast race 14-4 early after half-time to reduce the game to one figure, then they made a match to a possession after Jabari Smith Jr. drained a huge 3 points at the end of the period.
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However, this was as close as the Rockets ended their return. The Warriors finished the third quarter on a burst of 7-2 and did not abandon a basket on the field to push their advance to eight. Hield did not score in the third quarter at all, and he tried a single blow.
Curry, after his slow first half, finally came to life. He opened the fourth quarter on a 5-0 solo race, which included a 3-point-dos, within the first 71 seconds of the period to suddenly put the Warriors of 13 points again and force a quick waiting time.
Finally, Hield struck again in the second half with a 3 -point half points of the fourth – which both pushed the Warriors to a two -digit advance after a small rocket and put a new career in the playoffs for him.
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The Warriors used a last push, this time in the form of a burst of 12-0 capped by another 3-point pointer, in less than 90 seconds, to suddenly push the advance to 20 points. This sealed the agreement and allowed Golden State to move on to the 14 -point victory. The Warriors have also won 20 of their last 25 games against the Rockets.
Amen Thompson led the Rockets with 24 points and nine rebounds in defeat. Alperen şengün added 21 points and 14 rebounds, and Fred Van Vleet added 17 points. They were the only three rocket players to strike the double characters, and the team went 6 out of 18 behind the arc.
Hield finished with 33 points out of nine 3 points in the victory for Golden State. This corresponded to an NBA record in a match 7 for most of the 3 points in one match. He also pulled out of 12 out of 15 on the ground. Curry added 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and Butler finished with 20 points and eight rebounds. The Warriors exceeded Houston of 36 points from the arc. All the total points except three also came from their starters in victory. Kevon Looney was the only bench player to score.
The Warriors will now face the Minnesota Timberwolves in the next round from Tuesday evening. The Timberwolves drove on LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers to win a 4-1 victory to reach the semi-finals.
