For the second straight day, NBA fans will witness a Game 7 in the Western Conference. The Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets could deliver a closer matchup on Sunday night.
After falling into a 3-1 hole, the Rockets rallied to even the first-round series. The No. 2 seed will now host a win-or-go-home game at the Toyota Center, with the winner advancing to play the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Will fans get a chance to dust off all the 3-1 memes from when the Warriors squandered that same series advantage in the 2016 NBA Finals? ESPN’s Matchup Predictor thinks so.
Although it’s a tight call, ESPN gives the Rockets a 54.2 percent chance of completing the comeback with a Game 7 victory.
Oddsmakers also lean toward Houston, favoring the home team by 2.5 points. However, the Rockets’ moneyline has already dropped on FanDuel Sportsbook from -142 to -132, which still conveys a higher implied win probability (56.9 percent) than ESPN’s estimation.
After earning the No. 7 seed with a play-in victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, the Warriors took early control of their first-round series. They won Game 3 without Jimmy Butler, who returned from a pelvic injury to record 27 points, six assists, and five rebounds in a narrow Game 4 triumph.
The victory put Golden State in the driver’s seat, but Houston responded by shooting 55.1 percent from the floor in a dominant 131-116 win. Butler and Stephen Curry combined to make six of 22 shots for 21 points, a mark individually exceeded by three Rockets starters (Amen Thompson, Fred VanVleet, and Dillon Brooks).
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Curry and Butler bounced back to post 29 and 27 points, respectively, in Game 6. Yet the Rockets still secured a 115-107 win behind 29 points, eight assists, and eight boards from VanVleet. Steven Adams added 17 points off the bench, the veteran center’s highest tally since March 6, 2022.
The Rockets, who went 29-12 at home during the regular season, are one win away from taking their first playoff series in five years. Despite the consecutive losses, Butler insisted Golden State’s confidence remains at “an all-time high” entering Game 7.
“It’s not wavering, Butler said, per the San Francisco Chronicle‘s Sam Gordon. “We know how good of a team we are … It’s on us to make sure we get it done.”
Game 7 starts Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET on TNT.
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