Jaylen Green made two free throws with 3.5 seconds left and the Houston Rockets defeated the Golden State Warriors 91-90 on Wednesday night, advancing to the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas.
Houston overcame a 15-game lead against the Warriors and won their first series since February 20, 2020. The Rockets will face Oklahoma City, which defeated Dallas in the other West quarterfinal game Tuesday night, in the semifinals on the 26th. Saturday.
Alperen Sengan led the Rockets with 26 points and 11 rebounds, and Jabari Smith Jr. added 15 points.
Houston led by 14 points but fell behind in the second half, setting up a thrilling finish.
Houston trailed by six points with about 1:30 remaining, but Fred VanVleet made a 3-pointer and Sengun added a layup with 27 seconds left to cut the lead to one point.
With 11 seconds left, Stephen Curry missed a 3-pointer and Gary Payton II grabbed the rebound, but Green intercepted the pass and was fouled by Jonathan Kuminga, setting up the game-winning free throw.
The Warriors had a chance to win at the buzzer, but Smith blocked Brandin Podzemski’s 3-point shot.
takeout
Warriors: Golden State beat the Rockets twice this season without Curry, but lost Wednesday despite scoring 19 points.
Rockets: This young team showed composure to finish the game after jumping out to a double-digit lead.
important moment
Green was desperate to get the ball late drawing a foul to set up the winning free throw.
Main status
Houston won despite making just 6 of 27 3-pointers.
to the next
Houston heads to Las Vegas this weekend, while the Warriors return to regular-season play Sunday in Dallas.
Reported by Associated Press.
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