Despite holding a narrow lead entering the final frame, the Houston Rockets’ season would come to yet another unfortunate close at the hands of the NBA’s defending world champions.
In a must-win game that the Houston Rockets desperately needed to come out on top of to keep their championship hopes alive, the team that stood within a game of reaching the NBA Finals a season ago would suffer yet another major knockout blow against their most familiar foe of the decade.
Stephen Curry poured in a team-high 33 points alongside Klay Thompson’s 27 points to guide the Golden State Warriors to a 118-113 win in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals.
"“This one’s going to leave a mark,” Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni told reporters following Houston’s heartbreaking loss. “This is not something you just get over. This one hurts. “We played our best and they played their best, and we didn’t knock them out. It was like a heavyweight fight. We didn’t land the blows to at least get back to Golden State.”"
Houston — whose defense held Curry to a scoreless outing in the first half — led by five points entering the fourth quarter before allowing the two-time MVP to erupt for a 23-point period down the stretch that would silence the crowd at the Toyota Center.
James Harden led the way once again for the Rockets with a game-high 35 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals, while Chris Paul added 27 points and 11 assists in a courageous effort.
Here are the three takeaways from Clutch City’s postseason finale.