The Golden State Warriors put the finishing touches on their series against the Houston Rockets with a 114-81 win in Game 5 on Wednesday night. Despite being without Stephen Curry, Golden State had little trouble closing out the series, 4-1, to advance to the conference semifinals.
Rockets vs. Warriors 2016 results: Golden State finishes off lifeless Houston team with blowout
The Warriors win the series, 4-1.
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
The Rockets came out in Game 5 looking like a team ready to get on with the offseason already. Other than James Harden, who scored a game-high 35 points on 12-of-23 shooting, this was an embarrassing effort by Houston in a series-deciding game. The team shot just 32 percent from the field, which was seemingly symptomatic of a team that knew it was overmatched.
The Warriors went up 37-20 after the first quarter Wednesday, then extended their lead to 22 points entering halftime. Houston came out of the break with five unanswered points to cut the lead to 17, but that was more or less the last sign of life from the team this season.
Klay Thompson led Golden State with 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting in 29 minutes. Draymond Green also filled the box score with 15 points, nine rebounds and eights assists. The team will face the winner of the Clippers-Blazers series in the next round.
Three more things from Game 5:
James Harden needed wayyyyyy more help
Not that Harden was perfect in this series, but it’s almost laughable how his scoring in Game 5 contrasted with his teammates’ performance. Even though his scoring average in the series dipped to 26.6 points per game -- down from 29 during the regular season -- he was really Houston’s lone offensive threat. The Warriors certainly didn’t let anybody else beat them:
Harden: 35 points, 12-of-23 shooting (52 percent)
Everyone else: 46 points, 19-of-72 shooting (26 percent)
And not only that, but Harden drew nine of the Rockets’ 19 free throws in the game, too. The team had the same number of turnovers (17) as assists. Houston started the season in a dysfunctional place, and it seemed to end it without making a ton of progress.
Shaun Livingston has been a solid stand-in
Nobody can replace Stephen Curry. He’s one of the most unique players in NBA history and has helped to transform what we think is possible from the world’s best basketball players. Shaun Livingston, no matter what, would never be able to replicate Steph.
What Livingston can do, on the other hand, is effectively play within the Warriors’ ball-moving style. And while he doesn’t have Curry’s supernatural shooting ability, Livingston’s length makes him difficult for other teams to size up against. He’s more than just a nice change of pace from Curry stylistically.
Livingston was stellar in Game 5 in place of Curry, leading the way in the first half with a team-high 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting. He finished the game with 16 points, three rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes.
Everyone expected point guard to be a dominant position for Golden State in this series with the MVP filling the duties, but it turns out the Rockets didn’t have any answers for stopping Livingston, either. Maybe that’s somewhat because of Houston’s lacking defense in general, but Livingston deserves credit, too.
When will the Warriors get a real challenge?
Golden State just rolled over its first-round opponent despite being without the best player in the world for most of the series. Furthermore, after the Clippers' injuries decimated their championship aspirations, the Warriors could be looking at a second-round matchup with the Trail Blazers. Now, this isn't to knock what Portland has accomplished, but it'll be the second straight series where Golden State gets matched up against a team that doesn't exactly scream title contender. The Warriors may not see their first real challenge until the Western Conference Finals, when they would face the winner of the upcoming series between the Thunder and Spurs. That's the matchup everyone's waiting for, and right now, Golden State's path to that series is looking fairly tame.
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