Warriors will have to do it the hard way, make another trip to Houston after Rockets even series

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors went cold for an extended stretch of the fourth quarter, and now they’re going to have to do this the hard way.

They’re headed back to Houston for a deciding Game 7 in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, needing another trip to Texas to try to extend their season after a missed opportunity at home in a 115-107 loss that evened the series with the Rockets at three games apiece.

“I like our chances. I’ve seen what this group can do over the years. We’ve been in a lot of Game 7s, I believe, had a lot of success,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Jimmy Butler is Jimmy Butler. He’s been in all of these games. He’s one of the clutch performers in the league, so we’ll get ready. We’ll regroup, be ready to roll.”

Golden State’s shooters went cold for most of the fourth quarter, giving them little chance down the stretch against Fred VanVleet and second-seeded Houston.

The Warriors missed 13 straight shots between Draymond Green’s basket at the 10:12 mark of the fourth quarter and a 3-pointer by Curry with 3:35 left.

Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks (9) passes the ball while guarded by Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski (2) in the second quarter of Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in San Francisco. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

“We’ll be fine, we’ve just got to continue to make the right play, time after time after time,” Butler said. “… We’ve got to stop focusing so much on them and focus on us. If we do that then we’re going to be fine. We’re not going to sit here and act like we’ve been playing our best version of basketball ’cause we haven’t. And they’ve been doing OK but they haven’t played their best version of basketball either.”

They led the best-of-seven series 3-1 and wanted nothing more than to clinch this at home in Chase Center on Friday night, but instead they get another flight.

Game 7 is on Sunday for a spot in the second round against Minnesota.

“We’ve kind of found a formula here in the latter part of the season and we stayed with that formula to start the series up 3-1, things are going well and then obviously the last two games have gone very poorly,” Kerr said. “We have to assess everything and lineup combinations, starters, all of that we have to assess and we feel we’ve got a great chance to go down there and win Game 7.”

Curry and Co. couldn’t make the key plays — finishing with 17 turnovers for 22 Houston points — in crunch time and the Rockets answered practically every threat. They grabbed momentum back in this series with a commanding 131-116 victory in Game 5 at home on Wednesday night — and then quieted the yellow towel-waving Warriors faithful.

Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green, right, cannot stop Houston Rockets’ Alperen Sengun, left, from scoring in the first quarter of Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in San Francisco. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

“A possession here, a possession there, it’s not just the points on the board, it’s a feeling, it’s a vibe, it’s a morale, it’s momentum,” Curry said. “You’ve got to dig deep to win these type of games. Thankfully we have an opportunity to go do it. Very confident that we can go do it.”

Curry scored 29 points but shot 9 of 23, going 6 for 16 from deep. Butler added 27 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as the Warriors dropped to 27-11 since his debut on Feb. 8 following his trade from Miami.

Golden State has played its share of Game 7s — with Curry and Green winning four championships together.

“You have to make shots at the end of the day,” Curry said, later adding, “Winning is hard and sustaining it is hard. … If you want to win at the highest level you have to embrace the hard.”

Butler is most concerned about the hustle plays, the effort to crash the boards and chase down loose balls.

Golden State Warriors’ Brandin Podziemskli (2) and Moses Moody (4) defend against Houston Rockets’ Dillon Brooks (9) in the first quarter of Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in San Francisco. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

“We’ve got to get these 50-50 balls, we’ve got to rebound better,” Butler said. “That’s been the story this entire series. They’ve gotten the loose balls and they’ve gotten way too many offensive rebounds.”