HOUSTON _ It wasn't pretty. Nor was the result. The Warriors walked away with a 98-94 loss to the Houston Rockets in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals on Thursday. The Warriors trail the Rockets, 3-2, and Houston could close out the series in Game 6 on Saturday at Oracle Arena.
Unlike in the Warriors' Game 4 loss, they called timeout to set up a final shot. But they did not get the result they wanted with 6.7 seconds remaining. Warriors forward Draymond Green lost control of the inbounds pass, and Rockets guard stole the ball as Houston held a 96-94 lead. He then sank two free throws to clinch the victory.
The Warriors also unraveled in other key moments. Warriors reserve guard Quinn Cook missed an open 3-pointer, Stephen Curry missed an open layup and Green committed a foul.
All of which summed up an ugly night.
Warriors forward Kevin Durant had 29 points, but he shot 8 of 22 from the field and he missed all four of his attempts in the fourth quarter. Thompson had 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting, and he was fighting an injured left knee that happened in Game 4. Curry added 22 points on 8-for-17 shooting, but he only went 2 of 8 from 3-point range.
With the Warriors missing key veteran Andre Iguodala for the second consecutive game with a left knee injury, the Warriors lacked depth behind their stars. They only recorded four bench points to the Rockets' 31, including 24 from Eric Gordon.
The Rockets still won despite off shooting nights from Chris Paul (20 points on 6-for-19 shooting) and James Harden (19 points on 5-for-21 shooting).
