Golden State Warriors did not let the opportunity slip away in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. The Oakland, California-based team pounded the Houston Rockets in a 104 to 90 win, coveting the chance to play against the Cavaliers in the NBA finals.
According to si.com, the Warriors were led by NBA MVP Stephen Curry with 26 points and eight rebounds. Third year guard Harrison Barnes followed with 24 points to lead the Steve Kerr-coached team to its first NBA Finals appearance in four decades. The team received their Western Conference crown from Alvin Attles, the coach of the Warriors 1975 championship team.
The hero for the Warriors was North Carolina alum Harrison Barnes, who scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, scoring nine straight points at one sequence. With Barnes leading the way, the Warriors were able to pad their lead to 15 in the final six minutes of the game. The Warriors never looked back again.
Houston, which had come from a similar deficit in the Western Conference Finals against the LA Clippers, fought hard throughout the game. According to a post from bleacherreport.com, the team got outstanding performances from Dwight Howard, who had 18 points and 16 rebounds, and Trevor Ariza. Disappointingly, the team only got 13 points from its top scorer James Harden, who made for himself a rough NBA playoff record of 13 turnovers.
The Warriors was able to make 41 percent of their shots, with 9 out of 29 attempts from the three-point arc. The Rockets, on the other hand, made a dismal 35 percent, with just 5 out of 24 attempts from beyond the arc.
Curry's Golden State Warriors' will face the Eastern Conference Finals champions, LeBron's Cavaliers, for Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The first game of NBA finals is on June 4 at the Oracle Arena.
