The Warriors exorcised their NBA play-in demons, and now they are headed to Houston for a first-round playoff series with the Rockets.
Golden State held off the Memphis Grizzlies 121-116 in a thriller on Tuesday at Chase Center, advancing out of the Western Conference play-in tournament.
Game 1 between the Warriors and Rockets will occur at 6:30 p.m. PT on Sunday at Toyota Center.
Here’s the full schedule for the Warriors-Rockets series:
Jimmy Butler led the way with 38 points for the Warriors, who won their first play-in game in the event’s brief six-year history.
Steph Curry finished with 37 points, while Gary Payton II finished with 12 and Moses Moody scored nine. Draymond Green had four points, 10 assists and six rebounds.
Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, who sprained his right ankle midway through the third quarter and returned early in the fourth quarter, scored 22 points, while forward Desmond Bane led Memphis with 30 points.
The Warriors won’t be intimidated by the No. 2-seeded Rockets, as Golden State won three of the five regular-season matchups.
But in the last contest on April 6 in San Francisco, the Rockets assigned second-year guard Amen Thompson to guard Curry, which worked. Golden State’s star was held to 1-of-10 shooting and finished with three points in a 106-96 loss to Houston.
The Warriors and Rockets have a recent history of playoff battles, but those heated series feel like a lifetime ago.
This version of the Rockets is young, feisty and full of potential.
But Curry, Green and Butler are determined to win an NBA title this year, and their journey toward that goal begins Sunday in Houston.
