OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Stephen Curry had 26 points and eight rebounds, Harrison Barnes added 24 points and the Golden State Warriors advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in 40 years with a 104-90 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
After decades of wishing and waiting for this moment, the Warriors have finally arrived. They shook off a slow start and sweated out a shaky finish in Game 5 to close out the Rockets and set up a matchup with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers beginning June 4.
All five Rockets starters scored at least 10 points, but MVP runner-up James Harden had a forgettable finale. Harden had a playoff-record 13 turnovers and scored 14 points on 2-of-11 shooting.
Dwight Howard led Houston with 18 points and 16 rebounds.
Yellow streams and confetti fell from the rafters when the final buzzer sounded. The Warriors shared hugs and handshakes, and the crowd chanted “M-V-P!” for Curry, who relished the moment on the court with his 2-year-old daughter, Riley.
“We deserve to celebrate tonight but we’ve still got unfinished business and it’s a long time coming for the Bay Area,” All-Star Klay Thompson said.
Curry said he had no lingering effects from his frightening fall in Game 4 that left him with a bruised head and right side. The MVP wore a protective yellow sleeve on his right arm, which he shed in the third quarter after shooting 4 for 12 and the Warriors clinging to a 52-46 halftime lead.
Things got tougher on Curry when backcourt mate Thompson faked a shot that drew Trevor Ariza in the air early in the fourth quarter. Thompson absorbed Ariza’s knee to the side of his head, sending him to the floor.
Thompson, who finished with 20 points, lay on the ground for a minute before walking to the locker room. He came back to the bench with what the team called a right ear laceration.
The Warriors said he could’ve returned, but they never needed him. They started the fourth on a 13-4 run and held off Houston’s last-ditch efforts on free throws.
Barnes highlighted the decisive spurt with a dunk that gave Golden State an 87-72 lead with 7:10 remaining. He flexed his muscles to the yellow-shirt wearing sellout crowd of 19,596, which spent the final quarter on its feet in anticipation of a celebration a generation in the works.
Now it’s LeBron vs. Curry.
King James vs. the Baby-Faced Assassin.
The four-time NBA MVP vs. the newly crowned MVP.
The hype has already started for two of the most popular and entertaining players in the world to take center stage for the championship, and it has a week to build even more before starting at Oracle Arena.
The conference title is the biggest accomplishment yet in what has been a rapid rise for a Warriors team that is beloved in the basketball-united Bay Area despite decades of futility.
Warriors co-owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, sitting courtside next to rapper Kanye West, have turned the franchise into a contender since they bought the team in 2010. General manager Bob Myers, the NBA Executive of the Year, has constructed a talented roster around Curry that has exceeded all expectations. And first-year coach Steve Kerr blended it all together beautifully after Mark Jackson’s messy firing last May.
The Warriors rolled to a franchise-record 67 wins in the regular season and had little trouble dispatching New Orleans, Memphis and Houston in the playoffs. Now they’re in the finals for the first time since winning the title in 1975 behind Rick Barry and coach Alvin Attles, who enjoyed it all sitting in his usual spot at the top of the arena’s lower bowl.
It was a tough way for the Rockets’ run to end. They overcame a knee injury that sidelined Howard half the season to finish second in the West, played without starters Patrick Beverley and Donatas Motiejunas in the playoffs and rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Los Angeles Clippers in the second round.
The Warriors were one obstacle Houston couldn’t clear.
TIP-INS
Rockets: Howard and Bogut were called for double technical fouls in the second quarter. It was Howard’s seventh technical foul of the postseason, meaning he would’ve been suspended if there was a Game 6. … Howard also was called for a foul after extending his arm while setting a hard screen on Andre Iguodala in the final minutes that drew a replay review. … The Rockets last won at Oracle Arena on Dec. 13, 2013.
Warriors: Golden State is 46-3 at home this season, including 7-1 in the playoffs. … The Warriors are 16-2 in close-out games at home, the best winning percentage of any team.
FINALS MATCHUP
The Warriors and Cavaliers split two games this season, with each winning on its home floor. James sat out Golden State’s 112-94 win on Jan. 9 in Oakland, and he scored a season-high 42 points in the Cavs’ 110-99 win in Cleveland on Feb. 26.
