Chris Paul pounded the ball down demonstratively on Stephen Curry’s home court in sheer delight.
And maybe he sent a little message: These Rockets are for real and very much remain in the championship chase.
Houston handled the defending champions in their hostile http://www.bengalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-malik-jefferson-jersey , imposing home arena and sustained the latest second-half flurry by Curry, getting 30 points from James Harden and another 27 from Paul to even the Western Conference finals at two games apiece with a 95-92 victory Tuesday night.
Curry scored 28 points and Kevin Durant added 27 points and 12 rebounds but the Warriors missed their final five shots from the floor and their NBA-record postseason winning streak at home ended at 16 games.
The Rockets shook off a 41-point embarrassment in Game 3, a 12-0 deficit to start Tuesday and another big run by the Warriors in the third, then won it with defense down the stretch.
”We’re a team. We’re really good as a team,” Harden said.
Paul rebounded Klay Thompson’s miss just before the final buzzer sounded for the first time and celebrated in front of a stunned, yellow-clad home crowd. A replay review ensued and it was determined Shaun Livingston fouled Paul before the game ended, so Paul made a free throw with 0.5 seconds left.
And he did it all playing on a tender foot.
”A whole lot of treatment,” Paul said. ”It’s as good as it’s going to be right now.”
Curry couldn’t get off a final attempt before the buzzer.
Game 5 is Thursday night at Houston. Golden State, which went a record 16-1 on the way to last year’s title, will play its longest playoff round after closing out its first two series in five games.
”Now we’ve got to fight and really understand that this is a true playoff-type experience,” Curry said.
Golden State got the ball with 1:27 to play down 94-91 and Thompson and Curry each missed contested 3-pointers.
The Warriors got another chance with 42.5 seconds left following Houston’s shot-clock violation. Curry missed a driving layup and Draymond Green pulled down the offensive rebound and was fouled by Paul, but Green converted only one free throw.
”I thought this is the highest level we’ve ever played defensively, without a doubt,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said, ”because we’re talking about the best offensive team ever.”
The Rockets went ahead 85-84 with 6:03 remaining on Trevor Ariza’s 3-pointer from the baseline after a beautiful bounce pass from the opposite corner by Paul.
Golden State trailed 91-86 with 3:30 left following a pair of free throws by Eric Gordon, then Curry converted a three-point play moments later.
Green wound up with 11 points Eagles Paul Worrilow Jersey , 13 rebounds and eight assists while going at it with Paul all night in Game 4 – the first nail-biter so far in a series that had featured only lopsided results of 13 points or more.
”I’m sure we’ll look at the film and kick ourselves,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. ”Look, this is a great team we’re playing. They won 65 games for a reason.”
Curry knocked down three straight 3-pointers during a key third-quarter sequence in which he scored 11 consecutive points before Thompson’s 3.
Down 53-46 at halftime two days after a franchise playoff-record 41-point victory in Sunday’s 126-85 win, Curry shined in the second half once more. He scored 17 in all during the third-quarter spurt.
Curry came out and hit a 3 from the top and seemed on his way to another spectacular finish until the late misses on a night both Western Conference powers shot just 39 percent.
His 3-pointer from 29 feet out at the 5:43 mark of the third got Golden State back within 62-60 then he knocked down another moments later on the Warriors’ next possession for the lead. Then, another from the baseline before a driving layup to the left.
Much-improved Warriors big man Kevon Looney, who shed 30 pounds last offseason, earned his first career postseason start in place of injured Andre Iguodala and had four points and six rebounds.
Iguodala, who banged his left knee during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s win, was upgraded from doubtful to questionable after an MRI exam earlier Tuesday on the knee revealed no structural damage.
The Warriors got another scare when Thompson briefly went to the locker room in the second quarter with a left knee strain then returned and hit baseline 3-pointers from both sides and wound up with 10 points on 4-for-13 shooting.
The Rockets missed their first eight field-goal tries and committed two turnovers before Harden’s layup with 6:42 left in the first. D’Antoni called timeout at the 7:06 mark of the first with his team trailing 12-0.
”We just kept playing,” Paul said.
TIP-INS
Rockets: The Rockets were outrebounded 49-41. … Houston scored just 19 first-quarter points, its fifth straight period failing to score more than 24 before scoring 34 in the second. … After saying the pressure was on the Warriors, D’Antoni cracked pregame, ”That really worked out well, didn’t it?”
Warriors: Curry picked up his third foul at the 5:06 mark of the second quarter and took a seat and Golden State was limited to 18 points in the period. He pumped his right arm so hard after a basket in the first he nearly hit official Mike Callahan. … Curry made his signature pregame tunnel shot on the fourth try. … Golden State dropped to 32-7 in the postseason since 2015 when holding opponents to fewer than 100 points. … Looney started for just the ninth time in his three-year NBA car For the first time since Peyton Manning embarked on his farewell season three summers ago, the Denver Broncos opened training camp Saturday void of any quarterback controversy.
Case Keenum , who signed a two-year Adidas Jamie Benn Jersey , $36 million deal in free agency, took all of the important first-team snaps Saturday, unlike the last two summers when a QB competition droned on, stunting the chemistry and cohesion needed to have success in the regular season.
The Broncos, who haven't been to the playoffs since Manning retired following their Super Bowl 50 triumph, don't have to spend training camp wondering who's going to be their leader, either.
"That's the beauty of having a guy in place as your starter," coach Vance Joseph said.
And the lack of QB drama is a welcome reprieve.
"You have one voice on offense," tight end Jake Butt said. "It's always good to have a designated leader and a voice and a heartbeat and that's Case, we all know that. He's been doing a great job and we're going to continue to build on the things we did with him in the spring."
Having a starting QB in place also helps Denver's defense.
"Knowing we have a good signal caller back there, a proven signal caller, it's going to keep us off the field a little longer," linebacker Brandon Marshall said. "Our jobs will be extended, the defense will get to rest a little bit. Every year, we're just worried about us anyway, but it does affect you in the game. Turnovers John Ross Youth Jersey , three-and-outs, things like that.
"We're human beings so of course you try to say, 'You know what, just go out there, do your job, control what you can control.' But as human beings, sometimes you get a little ornery, you get a little irritated. That's just us being humans. I think it's going to be a good year."
Keenum, a longtime journeyman who took over in Minnesota last season because of injuries and helped lead the Vikings within one step of the Super Bowl, is entering his first training camp as the designated starter.
"It's new. I've taken everything from my past and I'm applying it now. I think everything that I've been through, all the adversity, it's made me into who I am," Keenum said. "I'm always constantly learning, too, so I want to learn from these guys.
"They've obviously been to where we all want to go. They've got the hardware to prove it. I've been close enough to taste it and feel it and not get there. That's what's driving me. But always learning, always falling back on who I am and not stray too far from that. But I'm always growing and learning and trying to be the leader that this team needs me to be."
The Broncos are coming off a 5-11 season that sent them tumbling closer to the bottom of the league than the top where they were perched after beating Carolina 24-10 in Manning's farewell.
Manning was on hand Saturday Adidas Leon Draisaitl Jersey , chatting up Denver's new quarterback.
"It's awesome to have one of the best 鈥?if not the best 鈥?that's ever played the game out here just watching practice," Keenum said.
First-round draft pick Bradley Chubb acknowledged being star-struck, even elbowing Shaq Barrett to say, "That's Peyton Manning!"
"And he was like, 'Yeah, I know,'" Chubb recounted.
"He played with him. I didn't."
Chubb said he wanted to introduce himself after practice.
"I don't know where he went though."
Aside from the 'Where's Peyton?' puzzle, the only QB intrigue in Denver is the battle for the backup job between Paxton Lynch and Chad Kelly.
Lynch is the 2016 first-round pick out of Memphis who was unable to unseat Trevor Siemian and has started four games in two years. Kelly was the final pick in the 2017 draft who has had a strong offseason after "red-shirting" as a rookie while recovering from various injuries.
While Kelly has drawn attention and praise for his offseason work ethic, trimmed-down physique and acumen that have him primed for an upset, Lynch has more jaw-dropping athleticism and general manager John Elway in his corner.
"It's not about who the backup is, it's about that backup having the ability to come into a football game," Elway said.
NOTES: Rookie ILB Josey Jewell missed practice with what Joseph described as a "slight hamstring pull." ... OLB Shane Ray, who opted not to have surgery on his still-mending right wrist that cut short his 2017 season, wore a splint at practice and said he "felt great. No pain, and I was just able to be me."
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