Stephen Curry had just produced one of his fantastic flurries to get Golden State right back in the game when Fred VanVleet started the fourth quarter with a four-point play that stole the momentum right back.
VanVleet had 29 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, Alperen Sengun contributed 21 points and 14 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets kept their season alive by beating the Golden State Warriors 115-107 on Friday night and forcing a deciding Game 7 in their first-round playoff series.
Golden State went cold when it mattered most: The Warriors missed 13 straight shots between Draymond Green’s basket with 10:12 left and a 3-pointer by Curry at the 3:35 mark.
“I think we just know how important it is, they do too,” Warriors forward Jimmy Butler said.
Curry scored 29 points but shot 9 of 23, going 6 for 16 from deep. Butler added 27 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
“We can’t give up a four-point play in a two-point game,” Draymond Green said.
“It was a mantra going into the series: Play through everything,” Udoka said. “It’s going to be a physical game. Don’t ask for anything. We want to be physical. So if the refs allow it or that’s how the style of game is played, that favors us more often than not.”
