HOUSTON — The Golden State Warriors were stretched, harried and at times even bullied by the Houston Rockets. Through seven games over a span of 15 days, they often looked well shy of their supposed invincibility.
Yet you will be seeing these Warriors on the game’s biggest stage once again — confronting LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers for the fourth June in a row — because they summoned the requisite mixture of toughness, shot-making and, well, clutchness Monday night to survive their first true state of emergency in the Kevin Durant era.
Perhaps the Warriors also needed the absence of the injured Chris Paul to complete their comeback, but the visitors uncorked their customary third-quarter haymaker, outscoring Houston 33-15 in their favorite quarter, and ultimately delivered a 101-92 victory over the Rockets in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals at Toyota Center.