With a push back on Wednesday night, the physical and assiduous Houston Rockets earned another battle against Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors. Curry and his crew have been in far tighter playoff spots, and Friday night’s Bay crowd will be sufficiently raucous for the home favorites. But these Rockets are playing like a team ahead of schedule and with nothing to lose. It should make for electric Game 6 staging. If Golden State closes out Friday, it’ll get the fired-up Minnesota Timberwolves next. If Houston pulls the upset, though … well, there will be public service announcements on the risks and hazards of blowing a 3-1 lead.
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How to watch Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors
Rockets at Warriors Game 6
Warriors lead series 3-2
Series odds: Warriors -450, Rockets +350
How we got here: Golden State stole the first matchup on the road, a 95-85 bruiser. Then the hosts got right in Game 2 — Jalen Green dropped 38 points as Jimmy Butler hobbled off the court. The Warriors trailed in the third quarter of Game 3, but wound up winning by 11 even with Butler on the sideline. Playoff Jimmy was back and in full effect for Game 4, though it was Draymond Green who adorned the marquee with his game-saving stop of Alperen Şengün.
And yet … the Rockets lifted off Wednesday to force this Game 6. They looked galvanized from the opening whistle, and a series full of offensive frustrations was suddenly cleared away by a 131-point ball-out. Houston finished with clean shooting lines of 55/43/84, and the defense stifled Curry and Butler alike (a combined 6-for-22 from the field).
The taller, junkier Rockets can make this interesting if they win on the boards and at the foul line. They’ll also need this latest version of Fred VanVleet, not whatever those first three duds were. VanVleet in Games 1-3: below 27 percent overall, 21 behind the arc for 11.3 points per game. VanVleet in Games 4 and 5: 61.5 percent, 12-for-18 on 3s, 25.5 points per game.
The Warriors can shut down this party with typical supernova postseason work from either Butler or Curry. They’ll need more from Brandin Podziemski, who absolutely shined with 26 points in the Game 4 win but scored just eight in Game 5’s stumble.
Which moniker would win in a fight? What a wild duel for this exercise. Warriors are trained fighters, which beats most of the playoff field. But Rockets have jet propulsion. Advantage H-Town here.
Expert picks
On this day (May 2) in NBA Playoffs History
- 2015 — One of the best first-round series ever concludes with an appropriately-bonkers Game 7. The lob city Clippers 111, the defending champions Spurs 109. If you have five minutes to spare on your Friday lunch break, consider rewatching this Spurs-Clippers all-time finish.
Betting/odds, ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Photo of Stephen Curry and Alperen Şengün: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
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