For the first time in 23 years, the Houston Rockets stand just one win away from reaching the NBA Finals. Here are three takeaways from their Game 5 win.
On an evening where the Houston Rockets sought to honor all of the students, victims and first responders tragically killed in last week’s school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, the team that fought all the way back for a resilient road win in Game 4 managed to give over 300 students from Santa Fe High School a moment to remember on Thursday night.
Eric Gordon scored a team-high 24 points off the bench and reeled in a steal late in regulation to help the Rockets secure a 98-94 win against the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of the 2018 Western Conference Finals.
"“I thought our guys just hung in there,” Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni told reporters shortly after Game 5 in Houston. “They found a way. It won’t go down as a classic…but it should go down as a hard-fought win.” “That’s kind of where we are, and where we will be.”"
Houston, which shot only 37.2 percent from the field, found a way to prevail in the hard-fought, defensive battle with the help of veteran point guard Chris Paul for the second straight game.
The 33-year-old posted 18 of his 20 points in the second half, and hit several huge shots down the stretch prior to leaving the game in the final minutes with a right hamstring injury.
James Harden contributed to the cause for Houston with 14 points on only 5-of-21 shooting, while Kevin Durant led the way for Golden State with a game-high 29 points in a losing effort.
Here are the three takeaways from Clutch City’s win in Game 5.