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The Golden State Warriors have done it again; their 101-92 win against the Houston Rockets in Game 7 has set the stage for a fourth consecutive final against the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the previous three meetings between the Cavaliers and the Warriors, the Warriors lead the battle with two wins to one.
Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, combined for 61 points and 15 assists to push the Warriors over the hump. Klay Thompson who picked up three quick fouls in the first quarter chipped in 19 points for the victory. Kevin Durant set a Western Conference Finals NBA record by scoring 213 points, a record previously held by Hall of Famers Shaquille O’Neal in 2002 and Hakeem Olajuwon in 1995 with 212 points apiece. All credit goes to the Warriors for showing the true heart of a champion by fighting back from a first-half 54-43 deficit to win the game. The Warriors came up big in the third quarter outscoring the Rockets 33 to 15, from that point they took control and never looked back. The Rockets shot themselves in the foot with horrid shooting from the three-point line. For a team who set the record for the most three’s made in a season in the 2017-18 season, with 1184 three’s; the atrocious 7-of-44 from the three-point range when it really mattered, definitely hurt the Rockets chances of advancing to the NBA finals for the first time in 23 years. James Harden and Eric Gordon shot a combined 4-of-25 from the three-point line, finishing with 32 points and 23 points respectively. The Rockets definitely missed their all-star point, Chris Paul who was out due to a lingering hamstring injury that he re-aggravated in the game 6 loss. After the game in his press conference, James Harden who is a top-three candidate for this season’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) title said that his team had a lot of open chances but could not connect. With the better record to end the regular season, the Warriors will have home court advantage as game one of the final tips off on May 31. The Warriors with their firepower offence are highly favoured to come away with the NBA title this season, despite the presence of LeBron James.
Image Credit: Mercury News
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