Warriors' game 6 revival keeps series alive against the rockets

Golden State reinforced its reputation for inflicting third-quarter devastation and eventually scored a rousing 115-86 victory in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals to even this seesaw series at 3-3.

Golden State surrendered 39 points in the opening quarter and fell behind by as many as 17 points, only to gradually ratchet up the pace after halftime. The Warriors outscored Houston by 17 points in the decisive third quarter and by 46 over the final three quarters, led by their high-octane trio of Klay Thompson (35 points), Stephen Curry (29) and Kevin Durant (23).

The Warriors’ resurrection, mind you, is only half-complete. For the first time in this four-season run of rampant success, they are in a playoff series without home-court advantage. To secure a fourth successive trip to the NBA finals, they must win a Game 7 in Houston on Monday night.

The Warriors have strung together two or more consecutive victories on 15 separate occasions this season. They will have to do so for the 16th time to save their season.

It is the first time since 1979 that both NBA conference finals have been stretched to their seven-game limit. In that season, Seattle outlasted Phoenix and went on to defeat Washington in a rematch of the 1978 NBA finals after the then-Bullets beat San Antonio in the East.

In Golden State’s favor, though, is the real possibility that Paul will not be able to play in the most meaningful game of his 13-season career.

Paul, 33, did travel to the Bay Area with his teammates and watched Saturday night’s defeat in uniform from the Houston bench. Unrealistic as it seems, given the nature of hamstring injuries and Paul’s age, Houston coach Mike D’Antoni refused to rule out the possibility that Paul will find a way to get on the court for Game 7.

“All our doctors are with us,” D’Antoni said, explaining why Paul traveled for Game 6 after he had been ruled out.

“He can get the same type of treatment,” D’Antoni said. “Plus he doesn’t want to miss this. He’s worked his whole career to be here. He’s very responsible for us getting here, so he needs to be here.”

D’Antoni acknowledged that Paul is “devastated” by the setback and described the rest of the Rockets as “devastated for him.” Paul began this postseason as the league’s career leader in playoff games without making a trip to the conference finals; in the words of Warriors coach Steve Kerr, he “pretty much willed” Houston to victory in Games 4 and 5.

“More than anything, I feel bad for Chris,” Kerr said. “He’s just been haunted by these types of injuries in his career. And it’s a shame.”

Without Paul, D’Antoni inserted Eric Gordon into the starting lineup and brought ailing forward Luc Mbah a Moute back into the rotation. Gordon responded by making his first four 3-pointers and scoring a rugged 19 points, while James Harden — who entered Game 6 having missed 20 consecutive 3-pointers — totaled 32 points after missing his first two shots from long range.

But Houston gradually faded, with D’Antoni using only seven players until its deficit reached 20 points. The Warriors scored the first 11 points of the second half to climb out of a 61-51 hole and had seized an 84-77 lead entering the fourth quarter — helped along by Gordon’s missing three free throws.

The Warriors were also short-handed, with Andre Iguodala, the most valuable player in the 2015 NBA finals, missing his third straight game with a lower leg contusion. Sympathy for Golden State’s plight is likely to be scarce, given Paul’s absence for Houston, but Golden State has clearly missed Iguodala’s settling nature and passing instincts against Houston’s unrelenting physicality.

Outplayed for much of the series by Gordon, Thompson answered when the Warriors needed him most. Of the team’s four All-Stars, he gets the least attention, but Thompson delivered a performance reminiscent of his heroics in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals in 2016, when he scored 41 points with Golden State facing elimination against an Oklahoma City team featuring Durant.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.