The Houston Rockets shockingly ended the Golden State Warriors' 16-game home playoff win streak in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday, pulling off a double-digit fourth-quarter comeback on the strength of their defense. As we roll into Game 5, the stakes are even higher. Will the Rockets hold serve and push the Warriors to the brink of elimination? Or will Golden State regain control of the series?
Here's a full Game 5 preview and prediction:
Game 5 Info
When: 9:00 p.m. EST
Where: Toyota Center, Houston, TX
TV: TNT
Spread: Rockets (-1)
O/U: 219
Projected Starting Lineups (with playoff stats)
Houston Rockets
G Chris Paul – 21.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 5.8 apg
G James Harden – 28.8 ppg, 6.9 apg, 5.2 rpg
F Trevor Ariza – 9.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg
F P.J. Tucker – 8.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg
C Clint Capela – 13.0 ppg, 11.4 rpg, 2.4 bpg
Golden State Warriors
G Stephen Curry – 24.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 4.0 apg
G Klay Thompson – 19.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg
F Kevon Looney – 4.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg
F Kevin Durant – 29.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 4.3 apg
F Draymond Green – 11.6 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 8.5 apg
What they're saying about the Houston Rockets:
How this Rockets team was built piece-by-piece (Houston Chronicle)
Rockets: P.J. Tucker has defined small ball this postseason (Fansided)
All-NBA Teams Announced For 2017-18: James Harden, LeBron James, Damian Lillard Headline First Team (Chat Sports)
What they're saying about the Golden State Warriors:
Warriors Rumors: Golden State Expects Thompson To Play In Game 5, Iguodala Remains Questionable (Chat Sports)
For Kevin Durant, 'it's impossible' to quickly get over Game 4 loss to Rockets (CSN Bay Area)
Warriors game day: Will fatigue be a factor in Game 5 vs. Rockets? (SFGate)
Key to the game:
Who will make more three-pointers?
This may be a really simple key, but it's one that has determined the outcome of every single game in this series. That's right - the winner in all four games has made more three-pointers than the loser. Both teams place a very large emphasis on the three-point shot in their small-ball system, so it's not a real surprise to see this being the case. Given their similar style of play, whoever manages to play that style better has won. That will be the case again in Game 5.
Prediction: Warriors win 108-102
Golden State played perhaps their worst quarter of the season in the fourth quarter of Game 4 and went ice-cold from the field. I don't expect that to happen again. Yes, the injury to Andre Iguodala will limit them, but they're simply too good of a team to shoot like that again. We'll get another close game but I'd expect the Warriors to come out on top this time.
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