OAKLAND, Calif. _ The Golden State Warriors lost Kevin Durant for one night and possibly beyond. But the Warriors still held on in their playoff series.
The Warriors finished with a 104-99 win over the Houston Rockets in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals on Wednesday at Oracle Arena. Klay Thompson, who finished with 27 points on 11-of-20 shooting and 5-of-10 from deep, made a layup for a 104-99 lead with 4.1 seconds left after Kevon Looney salvaged a loose ball. That gave the Warriors a 3-2 lead with a chance to close out the series in Game 6 on Friday in Houston. But the Warriors will likely have to do play without Durant.
No wonder Stephen Curry hunched over at midcourt once the buzzer sounded.
Durant left with 2:42 left in the third quarter after suffering what the team determined to be a right calf strain. After nailing a baseline jumper, Durant immediately felt pain in his right leg. The Warriors called timeout immediately, and Durant went to the locker room after finishing with 22 points on 8-of-18 shooting.
To the Warriors' relief, Durant did not suffer an Achilles injury, which takes about 8 months to a year to recover. The Warriors don't have an immediate timetable on Durant's injury, but he missed three games last season with a similar injury.
The Warriors survived one night, though, without Durant, who had averaged 35.4 points on 51.8 percent shooting before Game 5. Curry finished with 25 points albeit on 9-of-23 shooting from the field and 3-of-11 shooting from 3. Draymond Green added eight points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists before fouling out with 1:14 left.
Before and after Durant's injury, though, the Warriors appeared on the verge of squandering a 20-point lead. The Rockets outscored the Warriors, 29-15, in the third quarter. The Warriors shot 7-of-18, while the Rockets went 10-of-25. The Rockets outrebounded the Warriors, 14-9, while also forcing six of their 15 turnovers.
