Stephen Curry scored 33 points (23 in the fourth quarter), and the defending champion Golden State Warriors went on a 20-8 run in the fourth quarter to beat the Houston Rockets 118-113 in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals to reach the Western Conference finals.
The Rockets went on a 10-2 run to lead 89-82 with 11:00 left in the fourth quarter. Kevon Looney’s cutting layup put the Warriors ahead for good with 3:42 left. Curry scored 10 points during the run, and they led 102-97 with 3:09 left.
The Rockets got within 104-102 on Chris Paul’s driving layup with 1:45 to play, but Curry answered with a 3-pointer, and the Rockets got no closer than 107-104.
Curry’s 2 free throws with 2.3 seconds left made it 118-113 and put it away.
During clutch time, the Warriors outscored the Rockets 18-7. Curry (No. 7 in clutch wins added, 2018-19) scored 13 of the Warriors’ 18 on 3 for 4 shooting and 5 for 5 at the line. In the fourth quarter, Andre Iguodala had 2 of his 5 steals, one of them leading to Shaun Livingston’s driving layup that tied the game at 95, and the Warriors scored 2 points off them.
Klay Thompson scored 27 points (11 in the second quarter) with 7 3-pointers. Iguodala added 17 points and 5 steals, and Looney scored 14 points on 6 for 8 shooting off the bench.
For the Rockets, James Harden had 35 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals, and Paul added 27 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists.
The Warriors shot 49.4% from the field to the Rockets’ 47.2%. The Rockets’ starters were outscored 58-44 in 21 minutes together.