Warriors reach fourth consecutive NBA Finals by beating Houston

Warriors forward Kevin Durant, right, hugged teammate Stephen Curry after Golden State defeated the Houston Rockets in Game 7 of the Western ConferencHOUSTON — Kevin Durant scored 34 points and the Golden State Warriors are heading to their fourth straight NBA Finals after fighting back from another big deficit with a huge third quarter and beating the Houston Rockets 101-92 in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals on Monday night.

Stephen Curry and the defending champions trailed by as many as 15 in the first half after falling behind 17 in Game 6.

Curry, who finished with 27 points, scored 14 of Golden State's 33 points in the third quarter as Houston's shooting didn't just go cold, it…