HOUSTON (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, Buddy Hield made nine 3-pointers and scored 33 points, and the Golden State Warriors advanced to the Western Conference semifinals with a 103-89 win over the Houston Rockets in Game 7 Sunday night.
The Warriors will face the Timberwolves Tuesday night in Minnesota.
Hield had a scorching first half with six 3-pointers and 22 points to carry the Warriors to a 12-point lead, with Curry scoring just three points before the break. Then Curry took over in the closing minutes and performed his signature “night night” gesture as the Warriors put the Rockets away.
The Warriors became the seventh No. 7 seed in NBA history to advance to the semifinals and eliminated Houston in the playoffs for a fifth time. They sent the James Harden-led Rockets squads packing four times between 2015 and 2019.
Hield was 9 of 11 from 3-point range, setting an NBA record for a Game 7 and making more 3s than the Rockets, who were 6 of 18 from long range.
Amen Thompson scored 24 points to lead Houston, which forced Game 7 with two straight wins but couldn’t put away the experienced Warriors.
PACERS 121, CAVALIERS 112
CLEVELAND (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton made a go-ahead 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter that sparked a decisive burst for Indiana, who stunned top-seeded Cleveland in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Haliburton finished with 22 points and 13 assists, and he also made key plays on the defensive end, blocking a 3-point attempt by Max Strus with 2:12 left and converting it into a layup for a 10-point lead.
Andrew Nembhard added a playoff career-high 23 points and made five 3-pointers for the fourth-seeded Pacers, who finished 19 of 36 beyond the arc. Cleveland, which was second in the NBA during the regular season with 15.9 3s per game, was 9 of 38.
Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 33 points and broke Michael Jordan’s NBA playoff record with his eighth straight game of at least 30 points in a series opener.
Evan Mobley added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who trailed most of the game, took the lead in the fourth and then couldn’t close it out.
Indiana had a 12-point lead in the third before Cleveland rallied. The Cavs went ahead 102-101 on a free throw by Strus before Haliburton’s 3 ignited a 15-4 run.
All five Indiana starters scored in double figures. Aaron Nesmith and Pascal Siakam had 17 points apiece.
The Associated Press
