Houston's Rockets are still there.
After building a 31 -point lead and forced the warriors to wave the white flag, the Rockets pushed a Golden State bench rally on Wednesday evening to secure A victory of 131-116 game 5.
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Faced with the prospect of capping a defeat of 4-1 in the first round at home as seeded n ° 2, the Rockets survive and head for match 6. The series is now traveling to San Francisco, where the Warriors will be confronted with a chance to close the series at home with a 3-2 lead.
But for the Rockets, Wednesday's match was strictly to keep the series and their series afloat. They hit the Warriors in the mouth early and held late when the Warriors threatened to rally.
Houston achieved a 15-0 race at a 20-8 lead in the middle of the first quarter. When the quarter was finished, the head was 40-24. He increased to 76-49 at halftime.
Alperen şengün and the Rockets extended the warriors in match 6. (AP photo / David J. Phillip)
(Associated Press)
Steve Kerr sends beginners early on the bench
Houston holding an advantage of 49-24 to three minutes from the second quarter, Candace Parker of TNT launched the idea that the Warriors rest their starters to save their legs for match 6. It was not an absurd proposal, especially given the considerably older list of Golden State.
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In the middle of the third quarter, the Warriors reached the same conclusion. With Houston leading 93-64 and 5:50 to play in the quarter, Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Brandin Podziemski and Buddy Hield went to the bench. They did not return to the game.
The backups of Golden State finished the competition while head coach Steve Kerr prioritized rest for his starters in anticipation of match 6.
Ime Udoka finally followed suit and pulled Houston's runners with the apparently secure victory. But the game was not finished, and the starters of Houston were not made.
The backups of Golden State managed a race of 21-7 in the fourth quarter which reduced Houston's advance to 114-101. Udoka put back his starters in the game to push the rally. Kerr kept in his bench which set up the return with a chance to finish the work.
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This is not the case. A late fight has led to technical faults on both teams and the Pat Spencer ejection of Golden State. Fred Vanvleet struck a technical throw-in and Dillon Brooks made two others from a personal fault to extend Houston's advance to 117-101, and the Golden State rally has deflated.
Fred Vanvleet intervenes again
While the alignment of Golden State is deep with the experience of the playoffs and the championship, Houston is one of the least experienced in the playoffs. But it was a veteran of the playoffs that paved the way on Wednesday evening.
Fred Vanvleet was locked in the long term and led the rockets with 26 points in 33 minutes. He pulled 8 out of 13 on the field and 4 out of 6 of 3 while stimulating Houston in his big advance.
It was the second consecutive effort to shoot Vanvleet, which scored 25 points while striking 8 out of 12 attempts of 3 points Match thriller on Monday 4 This Golden State won, 109-106.
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These are the types of efforts that rockets have surely considered When they signed Vanvleet Toronto raptors in 2023 to run the point on a list filled with young growing talents. Vanvleet, who won a championship with the Raptors in 2019, was already here.
Where is Jalen Green?
There were questions about this Rockets team concerning who would assume the role in the playoffs in a team in a team with so little experience in the playoffs – and hopes in Houston that Jalen Green would be this type. The question remains while Vanvleet, Alperen şengün and Amen Thompson continue to share the charge.
Green, the top scorer in Houston during the regular season, took a rear seat for his starting colleagues for the fourth time in five games on Wednesday evening. He finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and two assists as a fifth marker of Houston. His eight attempts to go on the field were the least of all Houston starters.
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Thompson, meanwhile, finished with 25 points, six rebounds, three assists, five interceptions and three blocks as bidirectional force. ŞENGün flirted with a triple-double with 15 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and two interceptions. Brooks added 24 points.
The two -digit score effort was only the second in the series for Green, which exploded for 38 points during the Houston match 2 victory. But he scored seven, nine and eight points in the three defeats of Houston and won a secondary role on Wednesday evening. Houston is unlikely to put on a rally in this series unless Green finds another equipment.
Will warriors bounce back at home?
For the Warriors, match 5 is a disposable. He became uncontrollable early, and they have two other chances of closing the series. But match 6 on Friday will be their last chance to do so at home. If they don't, they will face another flight to Houston, where match 7 would be someone's game.
