SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors entered Friday’s Game 6 at Chase Center with a not-so-quiet confidence.
Even after losing a lopsided Game 5 in Houston on Wednesday, they assured anyone who would listen that there was nothing to worry about.
The Warriors were led by playoff-tested future Hall of Famers who knew how to close a series.
On Friday night, they looked like veterans, all right … an old team with weary legs that struggled to keep up with the spry Rockets as the visitors defeated Golden State 115-107 at Chase Center.
The decisive Game 7 of this first-round Western Conference series will be played Sunday in Houston at 5:30 p.m.
The turning point in Game 6 was a 14-1 run by Houston in the fourth quarter that put Rockets up 106-89.
Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) walks off the court after Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, May 2, 2025. The Houston Rockets defeated the Golden State Warriors 115-107. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Before they ran out of gas, the Warriors stars played well. Steph Curry scored 29 points and Jimmy Butler added 27.
But neither shot well in the last 12 minutes, unable to keep up with Fred VanVleet and his 29 points, or the Rockets and their 42 points in the paint, where Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams (38 combined points) feasted.
Now the Warriors are just 48 minutes away from possibly blowing a 3-1 series lead for the first time since the infamous 2016 Finals against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Warriors entered the fourth quarter trailing by just two.
But they allowed the Rockets to cap a 6-0 run with a tough baseline putback by Jalen Green. After the Warriors scored four unanswered in response, Houston got back on track with a Sengun layup and four points from Thompson.
Houston Rockets’ Alperen Sengun (28) is fouled by Golden State Warriors’ Quinten Post (21) in the 3rd quarter of Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, May 2, 2025. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
The Warriors were able to shake Curry open a couple of times, but his shots rimmed out as he played the entire third quarter and much of the fourth.
On another possession, Jimmy Butler was able to grab a tough rebound, but he saved it right to VanVleet, who buried his sixth 3-pointer of the night to give Houston a 101-89 lead with seven minutes remaining.
It was just that kind of night for the Warriors.
They tried to make a spirited push – utilizing the Hack a Shaq strategy to send Adams to the free-throw line, where he typically struggles – but just couldn’t close the distance in the end.
Game 6 began with yet another heated moment in a series full of them.
The officials gave Draymond Green a flagrant foul 3:07 into the game when the Warriors forward smacked Rockets guard Jalen Green in the head on a screen.
The Rockets took a 25-21 lead after 12 minutes, keyed by four offensive rebounds and a trapping zone defense that forced five turnovers, three by Curry.
The Warriors’ point guard has dealt with a thumb injury for months, and photos surfaced of the appendage being severely swollen before Game 5.
Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (23) shares his opinions over a call with NBA official JB DeRosa as Houston Rockets’ Fred VanVleet (5) watches in the first quarter of Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, May 2, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
The Warriors decided to break out a second quarter trap of their own, but asked the slow-footed Quinten Post to run with VanVleet, something the Rockets guard delighted in as he dribbled right past the defense and picked the Warriors apart.
The Warriors’ offense was stuck in slow-motion until Curry made a 3-pointer off a Green off-ball screen with 3:36 left in the second quarter.
After being hounded by Rockets traps, the Warriors began letting Curry operate in isolation, and that shift produced an 11-point Curry flurry that had the score tied at 46 with two minutes left in the half.
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The Rockets responded with a 7-0 run of their own, but Butler ended the half with a preposterous fading 2-pointer with 0.6 seconds left to make the halftime deficit just 53-48.
Butler continued his hot shooting in the third quarter, scoring seven early points as he went on to enjoy his third 20-point game of the playoffs.
The Rockets, led by another efficient shooting night off the bench by onetime No. 3 overall pick Jabari Smith, maintained a multi-possession lead during the third.
Kerr opted to Hack-a-Shaq Adams, forcing the sub-50% free-throw shooter to take six foul shots. It did not work. He made 3 of 6, and Sengun tipped in the final miss to give the Rockets five points in three possessions.
The Warriors finished the quarter strong, though, with Curry shaking free for a signature layup off a Green assist, and later making two foul shots to send the Warriors into the fourth quarter down just 86-84.
But the Warriors would get no closer, and now will travel to Houston on Sunday for Game 7.