HOUSTON -- They plodded out of this sauna-like region with their backsides dragging and their bodies aching, but heads held high.
These Western Conference Finals were not so much triumph as survival. The Warriors endured everything thrown at them by the Houston Rockets. And plenty was thrown, from elbows and forearms to malicious hips and shoulders. Clutching and leaning hard, the Rockets came within a half of upsetting the defending champs.
“Much respect to the Houston Rockets for bringing out the best in us and making this an incredible series,” Kevin Durant said late Monday night, after a fabulous second half allowed the Warriors to overcome a repulsive first in a 101-92 victory in Game 7.