Category: Basketball

Draymond roasts Eason for Warriors taunt that aged like ‘spoiled milk' originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Perhaps nobody keeps receipts better than Draymond Green.

After the Warriors’ 103-89 win over the Houston Rockets in Game 7 of the first-round NBA playoff series on Sunday at Toyota Center, Green not only brought up comments Rockets guard Fred VanVleet made prior to the series, but also came for young forward Tari Eason on social media.

Eason famously taunted the Warriors, who, at one point during the 2023-24 NBA season were directly ahead of the red-hot Rockets in the Western Conference standings, with a social media video where he told Golden State to “come out and play.”

The Rockets forward was quoting the classic 1979 film, “The Warriors,” citing a line where actor David Patrick Kelly famously challenges: “Warriors, come out to play.”

Green responded on multiple occasions last season, and after the Warriors ended the Rockets’ 2024-25 season on Sunday, resurfaced the video with a repost on X, formerly known as Twitter, with a caption describing how terribly the video aged.

Green, when Eason initially posted the video last season, was confused why the then-injured wing was taunting Golden State.

“I wasn’t surprised at all [when he said it], I am a little surprised that he hasn’t played in a game since January 1 so it’s kind of tough to yell ‘come out and play’ and you’re not going to play, it puts a lot of strain on your guys, when you can’t get out there and help them,” Green said in March 2024.

The Rockets (41-41) finished 11th in the Western Conference last season, five games behind the No. 10 seed Warriors (46-36). However, Houston broke out this season, surging all the way up to the No. 2 seed in the West, where they faced off against Green and the No. 7 seed Warriors in the first round. Eason, perhaps inevitably, found himself in the middle of an altercation with Green and other members of the Warriors.

Eason, in seven games against Golden State this postseason, averaged 7.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks per game in 18.9 minutes per contest.

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The Knicks are fresh off a 4-2 first round win against the Detroit Pistons and are gearing up for an Eastern Conference semifinals duel with the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics starting Monday night.

Overwhelming favorites in the series, the Celtics present a host of challenges for the Knicks, including outstanding three-point shooting and elite defense. Here are four aspects of the series to focus on...

Three-point shooting looms large

It’s almost a given that the Knicks are going to lose the three-point battle. New York is 15th in three-point attempt rate among the 16 playoff teams and was 28th in the category during the regular season. Boston’s offense revolves around the three-point line. The Celtics were first in three-point attempt rate, with more than half of their field goal attempts coming from beyond the arc.

There are several ways the Celtics can generate threes. Center Kristaps Porzingis has rained from three as a floor spacer. Jayson Tatum can wreak havoc as a shooter off the dribble, and the team has a plethora of deep ball threats like Derrick White and Payton Pritchard.

For the Knicks, the focus will have to be getting out in transition to create clean outside looks and playing faster in the half-court. That can help get Karl-Anthony Towns going from deep. Also, having a high volume shooter like Miles McBride on the floor more often could be an adjustment head coach Tom Thibodeau can go to. The three-point gap can exist, but it can’t be too severe, or the series will end quickly.

Defense of the stars

Knicks offensive hubs Jalen Brunson and Towns will carry a heavy responsibility on offense. In the first round, Brunson averaged 31.5 points and 8.2 assists while Towns was a near 20-10 performer. The defensive end will be important as well. Both stars are weak points in the Knicks defense that Boston can attack. Look for Tatum and Jaylen Brown to work to get Brunson and Towns switched onto them.

The Knicks are going to try to avoid switching, but that could open up good looks for Boston’s other players. This was always going to be a concern when the Knicks acquired Towns in the offseason. Having two defensive liabilities on the court for extended portions of the game will be a problem the Knicks have to solve.

Creating extra shot opportunities

One way for the Knicks to attack the Celtics will be the possession game. New York needs to control the boards and minimize turnovers to have a chance. The last of the four regular season matchups was the most competitive and offered a blueprint of how the Knicks can compete with Boston.

New York was able to win the possession battle. The Knicks had 17 offensive rebounds and four fewer turnovers than the Celtics. It led the Knicks to attempt 14 more shots than Boston. It was the only game that center Mitchell Robinson played in.

The Knicks rebound better with Robinson on the floor. In the Pistons series, the Knicks had an offensive rebound rate of 38.3 percent in Robinson’s 99 minutes, according to NBA Stats. The club’s offensive rebound rate plunged to 24.9 percent when he was off the floor. Could Robinson see an increase in playing time? It’s a legitimate possibility. After playing just 47 minutes with Towns in the regular season, the two shared the floor for 40 minutes in the opening round.

Wings need to deliver

Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby carry heavy responsibility on both ends of the floor. Both are expected to contribute on offense while guarding the opposition’s top scoring options. In the first round, Anunoby and Bridges saw time guarding Pistons All-Star Cade Cunningham. Now, expect both to hawk Boston’s star wings Tatum and Brown. Both are tough matchups, and New York’s defenders will have to navigate several screens while having to keep Tatum and Brown in check.

With so much attention commanded by Brunson and Towns on offense, there will be opportunities to attack for Bridges and Anunoby. In the season series against Boston, Anunoby (9.0 points) and Bridges (13.7 points) were both quiet. That can’t happen in the second round.

Both players are capable cutters off the ball and are adequate corner three-point shooters. New York traded five first-round picks to the Nets for Bridges and signed Anunoby to a five-year, $212.5 million contract for these moments. We’ll see if they are up to the challenge.

Scouting the Knicks: What the numbers tell us about Boston-New York showdown originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics dominated the New York Knicks during the 2024-25 regular season, piling up three double-digit wins and outscoring their Atlantic Division rivals by 65 points overall. 

Will it be more of the same when these two teams meet in the playoffs for the first time since 2013? In the long ramp to Monday’s Game 1, Knicks forward Josh Hart was quick to note that “there are bits and pieces you take from [the regular season] … but the series is 0-0.”

He’s not wrong. But the regular-season data only seems to highlight the advantages that Boston potentially could generate against this Knicks team, so it’s understandable if New York would prefer to ignore those numbers. The Celtics would be wise to take some guidance from the numbers, but not be overconfident from them. 

Here are five storylines — beyond the Jaylen vs. Jalen marquee matchup we spotlighted earlier — that could dictate whether this series is as lopsided as the first four meetings this season:

1. The KP Effect

The last time we saw Kristaps Porzingis against the New York Knicks, he was tongue-wagging all over center court at Madison Square Garden after piling up 34 points on 11-of-19 shooting and hitting a bunch of deep 3s from New Rochelle to help Boston escape with an overtime triumph to sweep the regular-season series. 

Porzingis, by his own admission, did not play up to his own standards in Round 1 against the Magic. Their size and physicality bothered him.

Porzingis produced a much-needed 20-point, 10-rebound effort when the team was without Jayson Tatum in Game 2 against the Magic. But Porzingis shot just 35.2 percent from the floor overall (19 of 54) and missed 15 of the 17 3-pointers he attempted against Orlando. The Magic were fearless attacking him defensively, too, and Porzingis will need to be better on both ends in Round 2.

But he won’t lack for motivation.

Drafted No. 4 overall by the Knicks a decade ago, Porzingis battled injury woes in New York before being unceremoniously dealt to the Dallas Mavericks in 2019. He’s spoken with great appreciation for all the stops on his NBA journey, but Porzingis almost certainly will get a jolt of extra adrenaline when he hits the floor, espresso in hand, for pregame warmups in front of blue and orange-clad Knicks fans at MSG later this week.

The Knicks dispatched Karl-Anthony Towns as their primary defender against Porzingis in two regular-season matchups, and Porzingis generated 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting while connecting on 4 of 8 attempts beyond the 3-point arc.

Perhaps more intriguing will be how the Celtics deploy Porzingis defensively. Al Horford has been an elite KAT defender, and it’s no surprise the Knicks big man had his best game against Boston without Horford available for the final regular-season meeting.

The Celtics would prefer to match Porzingis on Josh Hart, giving the team the ability to send two bodies at Towns or Brunson when needed. That could give Hart some open perimeter looks at times, but he made just 1 of 9 3-pointers against Boston in the four meetings this season.

Porzingis will need to be ready to joust with Towns, and defending without fouling will be a priority. But Porzingis’ presence on the offensive end could put the Knicks in a lot of binds and he must be ready to punish them the way he did in the final meeting of the regular season.

2. Checking in on Knicks’ moves to stop the Jays…

The Knicks have made two major trades in the past 18 months to add defensive-minded wings who were supposed to slow down Boston’s superstar tandem of Tatum and Brown. Alas, even with both OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges, the Knicks haven’t quite been able to corral the Celtics’ offense.

Tatum shredded the Knicks for 33.5 points per game this season while shooting 53.3 percent from the floor and 47.8 percent beyond the 3-point arc. Boston outscored the Knicks by 58 points in Tatum’s 151 minutes of floor time this season.

Brown’s knee hindered him in the fourth meeting, but the Celtics offense still hummed whenever he was on the court.

A look at how the Knicks’ primary options fared defending Tatum and Brown this season:

Anunoby had excellent individual numbers against both the Jays and often forced them to move the ball. The Celtics should hunt more advantageous matchup against the Knicks. 

Bridges didn’t bother Tatum in the least, with Boston’s star shooting 68.4 percent from the floor against him, including 57.1 percent on 3s. Bridges didn’t spend much time against Brown and logged the majority on his non-Tatum minutes against Derrick White, who also thrived at a Tatum-like level (62.5 percent shooting overall; 66.7 percent on 3s). 

Sending help didn’t make it any easier to corral Tatum, who seemed to light up when he got matched on Towns.

Tatum put up 25 shots on Towns in the 27.7 defensive possessions logged by the NBA tracking, generating a staggering 43 points on 16-of-25 shooting (64 percent) while making 6-of-12 3-pointers.

3. Can Robinson be a game-changer?

After the Celtics dominated the first three matchups against the Knicks, it was often suggested that things might be different if Mitchell Robinson was available. The 7-foot big man played 16 minutes in the final meeting of the regular season and left his mark on the glass with more offensive rebounds (four) than defensive boards (seven) in his floor time.

Rebounding will be a priority for Boston this series. The Magic were able to hang around with an anemic offense because they generated extra possessions on the glass, and the Knicks are too good offensively to allow second chances.

As for Robinson’s potential impact, the Knicks had a minus-2.9 net rating in his 99 minutes during the Round 1 slugfest with the Pistons. They were 9.4 points better defensively with him but the offense ground to a halt (97.1 offensive rating, 12.7 points worse than the team’s series average).

Robinson certainly helps a team that basically only goes eight players deep, but as long as Luke Kornet and Co. are finishing rebounds for Boston’s reserve units, the suggestion that Mitchell’s presence could alter Boston’s regular-season dominance feels a bit overstated.

4. Will Knicks sell out to stop the 3?

While no team in the NBA ran opponents off the 3-point line like the Magic, the Knicks did finish fifth in the NBA in opponent 3-point attempts, allowing just 35.7 per game. The bad news for New York: Opponents shot 36.7 percent on them, the fifth-worst mark in the NBA. 

The Celtics were unfazed by New York’s attempts to limit 3s during the regular season, averaging 48.3 3-point attempts per game versus the Knicks.

That number is slightly juiced from opening night, when Boston tied an NBA record with 29 makes on a ridiculous 61 attempts. But the Celtics shot 43.5 percent on their 193 total 3s against New York this season. Boston’s 130.2 offensive rating vs. the Knicks was its highest mark against any East opponent. 

Will the floodgates open for the Celtics after the Magic did everything they could to take away the 3 last round? Will the Knicks modify their approach and try to match Orlando’s blueprint? New York doesn’t have the defensive versatility to switch as frequently as Orlando did without Boston taking advantage of matchups.

The Knicks limited the Pistons to 32.4 percent shooting beyond the arc on just 31.3 3-point attempts per game in Round 1. They also gave up the second most free-throw attempts per game (27.8) and Boston needs to continue to be aggressive if teams take away the 3.

5. How much will Celtics lean on double-big lineups?

With Porzingis and Horford sitting out various games during the regular season, the Celtics logged only 11 minutes with that particular double-big grouping. Boston was +14 in their time together while shooting 57.1 percent from the floor and 50 percent beyond the 3-point arc in that span. 

Defensively, the double-big lineup has the potential to challenge the Knicks’ offense. Horford has been solid against Towns, limiting him to eight points on 3-of-8 shooting with a block and a turnover in 8:37 of matchup time. Putting Porzingis on Hart gives the Celtics an ability to have multiple big bodies to swarm Towns or Brunson near the basket.

Even if the Celtics elect to go small, the Celtics have routinely dispatched Jrue Holiday to defend Towns. This feels like a big Holiday series if his hamstring is healthy again. The Celtics will ask him to chase the shifty Brunson through endless screens on one possession, then go joust with Towns the next. 

The Celtics will have to balance how much they are willing to live with Brunson getting his points. The Knicks were 26-22 when Brunson scored 21+ points this season but 14-3 when he scored 20 or fewer.

There’s some flukiness with blowouts and a 9-3 record when Brunson went for 35+, which suggests there are limitations on just how much you’re willing to concede to reel in Towns and the rest of the supporting cast.

Christie explains why he's ‘humbled' to be Kings' new coach originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Doug Christie is proud to formally be the Kings’ new coach after holding the position in the interim period following the firing of Mike Brown in late December during the 2024-25 NBA season.

On Friday, the new Kings coach sat down and shared the reasoning for his humility in an exclusive interview with NBC Sports California’s Deuce Mason.

“[I’m] humbled, man,” Christie told Mason. “It’s hard to put into words, to be honest with you. A long journey, but there’s a love, a passion, a respect for what I consider to be an incredible jewel here in Sacramento. And for the organization, for our fan base, for all of them to trust me with that is humbling.”

Christie doesn’t take for granted the support he feels in California’s capital city. 

After spending five seasons in Sacramento as a player, a season at Golden 1 Center as an NBC Sports California broadcaster and the last four seasons with the Kings as an assistant coach, Christie is honored to now lead the franchise he speaks about and treats like family.

“I think that any time you have the ability to have more of a full view of anything, it helps the process of what you’re going through,” Christie told Mason about how his longstanding ties to the Kings help him as a coach. “I think you understand it from different angles, you have a greater respect for what you’re dealing with, and being in all those different areas, I’ve seen it from a lot of different aspects. And it just gains a respect of what I’m dealing with and a love for where I would like to go.”

Sacramento has plenty to address after finishing 40-42 during the 2024-25 season. But there remains some optimism after the team finished with a 27-24 record after Christie took over; some of it comes from the arrival of new Sacramento general manager Scott Perry, whom Christie is excited to work with.

“More than anything, it’s to really sit down with Scott and lay out the map of what he sees, what I see, bring that together and sharpen the knife and begin to cut,” Christie told Mason about what his first order of business will be as coach.

Christie endured a long journey to reach this point in his NBA career with the Kings – one that left him ringless since entering the league as a player in 1992-93. 

But Sacramento’s new coach is focused on bringing the organization, city and the gritty fans the NBA championship that all parties want so desperately, with, of course, how close the Kings came during the 2002 playoffs in the background. 

Christie is thankful for his new opportunity. And he is adamant about leaving everything he has on the court.

“I will die trying, my friend,” Christie told Mason.

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Draymond slyly torches Rockets organization after Warriors' win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Draymond Green gave a young Rockets team their flowers after the Warriors’ Game 7 win over Houston on Sunday at Toyota Center.

But had a brutal parting message for the organization.

Green initially shared his respect for the Rockets’ team in his postgame press conference, admitting the first-round playoff series was one of the more difficult ones of his 13-year NBA career. Then, he was asked about playing in a hostile environment like Houston, in front of a Rockets crowd that he and longtime teammate Steph Curry have plenty of experience with.

“It’s always fun winning in this city and winning in this arena,” Green said. “I saw Fred [VanVleet] had made a comment earlier in the series and said, ‘This ain’t that team’ … It’s that organization, though. And we like coming to this city and playing in these situations. It’s been good to us.”

VanVleet’s comment that Green is referencing was made prior to Game 1 of the series, when the Rockets guard was asked about Houston’s playoff history against Golden State, which includes five consecutive postseason series losses.

“No. This ain’t that team and that ain’t that team. It’s a different team,” VanVleet told reporters after practice on April 16. “We’re a different team, they’re a different team, it’s a new year.”

VanVleet’s comments, both in that moment and in hindsight, certainly are fair, but Green took note of them nonetheless.

Curry was asked after the game what he perceives his reputation to be in Houston after winning another playoff series against the Rockets.

“I’m a winner,” Curry bluntly said with a smile.

That just about sums it up.

Curry, Green and the Warriors have broken the hearts of many fan bases throughout their dynastic run, and perhaps none worse than Houston’s.

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How Kerr's skillful weekend ended with Warriors' Game 7 triumph originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

First as a player, then as a coach, Steve Kerr has had his share of magnificent postseason maneuvers. He added another this weekend, a series spanning about 48 hours.

After taking a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series with the Rockets, the Warriors tumbled in Game 5 on Wednesday in Houston and came home Friday to coast to victory in Game 6 – only to get spanked off the Chase Center floor.

Kerr went to work immediately afterward, planting two seeds for his team to cultivate.

“No. 1 was coming into the locker room right after Game 6 and saying, ‘That’s on me; I didn’t have y’all ready to play,’” Draymond Green recalled. “So, the accountability and leadership. And No. 2, just the belief.”

Green was saying this to reporters late Sunday night, in the glow of a 103-89 triumph at Toyota Center that sent Golden State into the Western Conference semifinals. He was lauding the head coach he has joined in battle for 11 years.

The coach who late Friday night and into Saturday, with his team one loss away from NBA sports infamy, had turned inward, scouring everything at his cerebral and emotional disposal. What could Kerr say or do to avoid being the coach of a team that twice took a 3-1 lead in a postseason series only to stumble in Games 5, 6 and 7.

Kerr wanted to ensure he had done all he could to get the Warriors ready before Game 7 tipped off on Sunday. He met with his assistants to formulate a game plan and unveiled it Saturday evening after the team arrived in Houston.

Trusting that Curry and Butler would be in the right frame of mind, much of Kerr focused his attention on Green, whose low-impact series bottomed out in Game 6. If Draymond couldn’t find the best of himself in Game 7, the Warriors likely would be returning to the Bay Area, season over, scratching their heads.

Kerr was pleased to see Green take the floor Saturday night, offering a mea culpa for his Game 6 performance. Draymond had “heart-to-heart” conversations with members of his inner circle, who provided unflinching feedback that set him straight.

“He owned up to losing his poise in Game 6, and I agreed with him,” Kerr said. “I thought the flagrant foul (he committed) four minutes into the game was a tone-setter, and he knew it. He talked to the group last night and said, ‘I’ve got to be poised, and I have to be better, and we’re going to come in here tomorrow and get it done.’”

That wasn’t enough for Kerr, though, so he took Green’s temperature during the team’s Sunday morning shootaround.

“He told me,” Draymond said, ‘You’re one of the most competitive people I’ve ever been around, and one of the greatest leaders I’ve been around, so it’s my job to let you know what your leadership should be tonight. How you need to lead, what that needs to look like for tonight. It’s my job to prepare you for that, my job to get you ready emotionally to play.’

“It’s one of the better conversations we’ve ever had, and we’ve had some great ones. But that’s one I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

Green responded six hours later with by far his best game of the series, leading a defense that stifled the Rockets. He also contributed 16 points, six rebounds, five assists and two blocks to finish a team-best plus-18 over 40 minutes.

“His emotional stability tonight, just his poise from the start, set a great tone,” Kerr said.

On the run-up to the game, Kerr resisted any temptation to pull Buddy Hield from the starting lineup. The veteran guard totaled four points on 2-of-6 in Game 5 and was scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting in Game 6. He was hurting more than helping.

So, there was Hield, joining Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Jimmy Butler III and Green in the starting lineup for Game 7. Kerr trusted Buddy in a game that, if it went sour, would be remembered as an epic Warriors failure.

Hield scored 22 points of Golden State’s 51 points in the first half and finished with a game-high 33. He was marvelous.

“I never wavered on starting Buddy,” Kerr said. “The lineup that we started tonight has been by far our best five-man unit in this series, so I knew I was going to stay with Buddy.”

Kerr junked his usual rotations and substitution patterns, letting Curry (46 minutes) and Butler (45) play until their tongues met their chins – because they wouldn’t have it any other way. This meant too much to them. And to Kerr.

After the Warriors committed only three turnovers in the first half, implementing a facet emphasized in the game plan, they pushed the lead to 15 in the first minute of the second half before veering into a series of empty possessions that brought Kerr off the bench.

A turnover by Butler led to a transition dunk that brought the Rockets within nine. Timeout Warriors. Three consecutive shots by Podziemski, the last mindless, led to another transition bucket that trimmed Golden State’s advantage to five. Timeout Warriors.

After Jonathan Kuminga misses on consecutive possessions led to a Houston triple that made it a three-point game with 2:48 left in the quarter, Kerr called yet another timeout. The Warriors listened, went on a 12-2 run over the next four minutes and closed it out.

Gone were all the anxieties that come with playing a Game 7 on the road against a team that had shown no sign of capitulation. The Warriors would have to take it, and they did.

“I’ll tell y’all, Steve is so calm in these situations,” Green said, recalling Friday night. “Everybody gets rattled, and he just be like this (chilling). But when you have a coach that walks in like that, it settles everybody down.

“And, obviously, he’s the best in the business when it comes to game plans this time of year.”

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Stephen Curry said the Golden State Warriors had to "dig deep" to beat the Houston Rockets 103-89 in the deciding game of their Western Conference first-round play-off series.

The Warriors led the best-of-seven series 3-1 before the Rockets pulled level at 3-3 going into the final game in Houston.

Curry scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter while team-mate Buddy Hield sank nine three-pointers in his game-high haul of 33 as the pair helped the Warriors set up a Western Conference semi-final against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"A lot of resilience and everybody stepping up," said Curry when asked what was needed to secure the win.

"Everybody's been talking about our team the last two games in terms of our execution, our energy, all that.

"We blocked it all out and just understood we had 48 minutes to dig deep. Everybody contributed. Buddy Hield was unbelievable."

Jimmy Butler, who joined the Warriors in a trade from Miami Heat in February, contributed 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

"For us to build chemistry on the fly and build trust on the fly and perform like we did in a game seven, it means the world," added Curry.

"So, mission accomplished - step one."

The Rockets were second in the Western Conference regular season compared to the Warriors' seventh-place finish.

Houston's defeat in the decider meant they failed to become the 14th team to come from 3-1 behind to win a NBA play-off series.

Meanwhile, the Indiana Pacers won 121-112 at the Cleveland Cavaliers to take a 1-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semi-final play-off series.

Andrew Nembhard top scored for the Pacers with 23 points while team-mate Tyrese Haliburton added 22.

The Cavaliers, who finished top of the Eastern Conference, were beaten for the first time in this season's play-offs following their 4-0 first-round play-off series victory against Miami.

"We're definitely the heavy underdog, but we're trying to control what we can," said Haliburton. "It gives us a lot of momentum for sure, but this is the best team in our conference. They don't lose much."

Latest Steph Curry, Draymond Green Game 7 gem proves their tanks aren't empty originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

HOUSTON – Draymond Green didn’t set the tone when he stayed vertical and contested Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun’s attempt at a left-handed hook shot on the opening possession Sunday night at the Toyota Center. 

Or when he forced Sengun into a travel after grabbing his own rebound off that miss. Or when he set a screen for Steph Curry the first time the Warriors had the ball, cut to the basket and finished a wide-open layup. Or when he jumped to stuff Jalen Green at the rim on the Rockets’ second possession. Or when he followed that with a 3-pointer at the top of the arc to give the Warriors a 5-0 lead in the first 71 seconds. 

Standing in front of his teammates and coaches and other members of the organization, Green planted his flag the night before the Warriors’ 103-89 Game 7 win Sunday, making a plea that everybody could count on him with the season on the line. 

“Draymond set the tone last night at the team meeting,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr revealed.

The Warriors’ voracious vocal leader owned up to letting the team down in the Warriors’ Game 6 loss at Chase Center, setting the tone in the wrong way by getting called for an unnecessary flagrant foul just over three minutes into the first quarter. His poise was wiped away from that point on. He’s the 13-year NBA veteran who has four championship rings to his name, yet the young Rockets took him out of his game and erased his mental edge. 

Green was embarrassed by his Game 6 performance and what he gave to the game of basketball in that loss. Draymond had heart-to-heart conversations with the people he loves the most following Friday night’s loss in the lead up to Game 7. 

His wife. His longtime trainer and close personal friend, Travis Walton. His college coach, the legendary Tom Izzo, and even his barber. They were all there for him, but it was more so about the message Green was sending than what he was hearing on the other side. 

Pouting outweighed production, and Green was dying to get back on the court to prove himself yet again. He tried to defer to Curry and Jimmy Butler in giving a pregame speech, but they, too, knew the group needed to hear from him more than anybody else. 

“Most importantly was calling myself out,” Green said. “You can’t go into a Game 7 expecting guys to rally off the game we had before and not address it. So I wanted to address that, number one. And then secondly, tell everybody else what we needed, which was a togetherness like no other. In our huddles, together – trusting and believing. 

“I thought it was much needed. But as much as I think this team needed it, I feel like I needed it for myself even more. You got to be accountable. You can’t be a leader and not be accountable. You call other guys out when their s–t stinks, then you better say when yours does too. That’s what I tried to make a point in doing.”

The 16 points Green scored were one more than he had in the Warriors’ previous two games combined. Green was a game-high plus-18, making all four quarters a living hell for Sengun, who had 21 points and 14 rebounds but was a game-low minus-12. Sunday marked Green’s sixth Game 7, all with Curry by his side, who looked to have a slow shooting night until the fourth quarter began. 

His impact was about so much more. 

Curry didn’t score a single point in the first quarter. He only had three going into halftime because of a long 3-pointer he made with 33 seconds left in the second quarter, and eight going into the fourth quarter. Points weren’t his goal. Reducing turnovers were. 

As the Rockets grabbed, held and tugged at Curry for a seventh straight game, he continuously made the right play. The ball kept moving when the Rockets tried to blitz and double-team him, and still he only had one turnover in the first half and two all night. Despite his low scoring output, Curry was a game-high plus-16 in the first half, leading all players in defensive rebounds (six), assists (five), steals (one) and blocked shots (two). 

“I think that’s a true definition of, like, I don’t even know what you call it,” Butler said. “Being the best player, being one of the greatest is that they impact the game in more than just scoring or shooting. To be able to guard, to be able to rebound, to be able to find guys when they’re open – it’s a hard job for him because he always has three people that are on him and he’s always making the right play over and over and over again. But we needed it. 

“Then when it was time for him to make some shots, we needed it, and he came through.” 

As the Warriors’ offense went ice-cold down the stretch of Game 6, Curry scored three points on 1-of-7 shooting. He was averaging only 4.4 fourth-quarter points for the series. This was Game 7, where heroes of the game rise above. 

Curry scored 14 points in the fourth quarter Sunday, playing all but the final eight seconds, going 5 of 6 from the field and 2 of 3 from deep. Steph opened the quarter ISOing Jabari Smith Jr. and slicing through the Rockets’ defense for a finger roll. The next time down, Curry hit Amen Thompson with a step-back three, giving the Warriors a 13-point lead and making Rockets coach Ime Udoka call a timeout.

He jogged to the other side of the court, talking to Rockets fans who have seen this movie before. Game over, right then and there. 

Curry now has beaten the Rockets in five playoff series, and became one of seven players ever to have three Game 7 wins on the road. Green, Butler and Warriors center Kevon Looney are also part of the list, but Curry is the only one to score at least 20 points in all three. He only needed three words to describe how Houston will remember him. 

“I’m a winner,” Curry said. 

That has been the story of Steph and Draymond since they became teammates 13 years ago. The competitive spirit that never wavers. The will to find a way to win, and the enjoyment in doing so. Curry hit Houston with his Night Night celebration after a late three by Buddy Hield, and Green waved goodbye to the few fans that remained when the final buzzer rang.

There they were going down the tunnel and back to the Warriors’ locker room together, Draymond sticking his tongue out and yelling “Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!” with Steph jumping up and down like a little kid at his antics. They’re so different in so many ways, and equally the same in giving the game everything they’ve got until it one day tells them there’s nothing left.

The tank is far from empty, and on to Minnesota they go.

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What Steph told Draymond after Warriors won Game 7 vs. Rockets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Immediately after pulling off a first-round NBA playoff series upset over the No. 2 Houston Rockets on Sunday at Toyota Center, Warriors stars Steph Curry and Draymond Green had a heart-to-heart moment on the floor. 

It only made sense. 

Golden State, after nearly fumbling a 3-1 series lead, clinched their ticket to the Western Conference semifinals with a 103-89 win over Houston, giving Curry and Green plenty to be proud of.

“We were just talking about the score,” Curry told reporters after the win. “We wanted to keep them under 90 [points].” 

Steph shares what he told Draymond immediately after tonight's win 😬 pic.twitter.com/9ROM1iEmFD

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 5, 2025

Curry, who provided little offensive output the first three quarters of the game, scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter. Green, on the other hand, contributed 16 points, delivering his best offensive performance when it mattered most. 

As Curry noted, the Warriors’ offense and defense held their ends of the bargain.

“We had done it a couple of times, and we won,” Curry added. “We felt very confident that if we did that again, we’d be able to score enough to create some separation, and that’s kind of how it played out.” 

Curry and Green’s postgame moment didn’t end there, however. 

As both players made their way to the locker room, Green celebrated loud and clear, shouting, “Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!’”

Curry, as seen in the video, loved every bit of it. 

Draymond Green’s message as he walks to the Warriors’ locker room after beating the Rockets in Game 7 on the road: “SURPRISE! SURPRISE! SURPRISE!”

A laughing Steph Curry loves it pic.twitter.com/O9A9vO48JK

— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) May 5, 2025

On Sunday night, Houston witnessed moments that only Golden State playoff basketball — with Curry and Green leading the way — can produce.

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Warriors ‘punchline' Hield punches out pesky Rockets in Game 7 originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Humiliation averted, Buddy Hield paid in full, euphoria in the streets of Dub Nation.

To the rich and ever-expanding book of Warriors NBA playoff lore, add another chapter: Game 7 Buddy.

An offseason signing that impressed few around the NBA, Hield needed only one incredible playoff game to earn his keep. His Game 7 performance in Golden State’s 103-89 win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday should count as two.

Hield was magnificent on offense, his specialty, with a game-high 33 points, including nine triples. He also was highly effective on defense, where his reputation is less than sterling, playing in significant role in the Warriors limiting the Rockets to 40.5-percent shooting from the field, including 33.3 percent from deep.

“The 33 points were great,” Draymond Green told reporters at Toyota Center. “Nine threes? Incredible. But what he did on the defensive end was even more impressive. He took on every matchup that he had whether it was Jalen [Green] or Fred [VanVleet] all over, hawking the ballhandler. He ended up with Şengün on the post, made him force a miss, knocked the ball out we was able to come up with the loose ball.

“He made winning plays all night.”

Green said he sensed Hield, who was scoreless in a Game 6 loss, was prepped to play a significant role in Game 7.

“I told Draymond I planned a big game tonight,” Hield said. “Just locked in, trying to find my joy. I’ve never been in this situation before, and I was just trying to seize the moment, that was the moment, and just be in the moment at the same time. And enjoy the moment.”

This was a team triumph, to be sure, with superb performances from the accomplished core of Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler III and Green ensuring Golden State’s ouster of the Rockets to advance to the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

That core, however, followed Hield’s lead. Even Butler, who leads the pack of those routinely making Buddy a lighthearted punchline, had to admit as much.

“Buddy was huge,” Butler said semi-grudgingly. “We know the type of basketball player that he is, and he’s a tough cover for sure whenever he’s making shots. But he made so many right plays on the defensive side of the ball, getting the ball where it needed to go. Buddy was really, really, really big for us tonight.”

Hield’s defense was stellar, but it was his offense that set the tone. He quickly lit a fire under his teammates in the first quarter – punctuating it with a 42-foot buzzer-beater – that the Rockets simply not extinguish over the next three. The Warriors led by as much as much as 20 points.

“Buddy Hield, I don’t know what to say,” said coach Steve Kerr, who said he never considered benching Hield after Game 6. “That was really incredible watching him light it up in that first half, especially, and then down the stretch as well.”

Hield had 22 of Golden State’s 51 first-half points before turning the offense over to Curry and Butler, who combined for 31 of the team’s 52 points in the second half.

Hield’s 33 points are the most by any player following a scoreless postseason game. He shot 12 of 15 from the field, including an astonishing 9 of 11 from beyond the arc. His nine 3-pointers tied Donte DiVincenzo for most triples ever in a Game 7.

This was, for Buddy, an exceedingly loud response to his Game 6 doughnut.

“Next game mentality,” Hield said on NBC Sports Bay Area’s “Warriors Postgame Live.” “Can’t dwell on what happened last game. Yes, we lost. Flip the script, flip the page, next game. That’s the mentality I got to have. That’s the mentality you’ve got to keep every time.

“You can’t let in the outside noise. I stayed off my phone. I didn’t even talk to my family as much. My family wanted to come to the game, I told them no. I wanted to lock in and prepare for this.”

The Warriors had taken a 3-1 series lead before desultory performances in Games 5 and 6 forced them into a Game 7 on the road. Considering the veterans remain salty about blowing a 3-1 lead in the 2016 NBA Finals, repeating such an inglorious feat would have done cruel things to their souls.

Green was terrific: 16 points, six rebounds, five assists and two blocks, finishing a team-best plus-18 over 40 minutes. Curry was wonderful: 22 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds, two steals and finishing plus-16 over 46 minutes. Butler played 45 minutes, delivering 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, finishing plus-10.

But this was Hield’s night.

Signed last July to provide bench scoring and 10 months later, in a time of urgent need, he starts a Game 7 and shoots his way into Golden State’s book of unforgettable postseason performances.

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Draymond Green yells hilarious message after Warriors' Game 7 win vs. Rockets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Draymond Green and Steph Curry naturally were in a good mood after the Warriors’ thrilling Game 7 win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.

As Green and Curry walked to the visitors’ locker room at Toyota Center, they were asked what a win like that on the road says about them.

Curry tried to answer the question seriously, but Green had other ideas.

“You know what it takes, baby,” Curry said.

“Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!” Green bellowed as he looked into the camera.

The Warriors were underdogs in Game 7 after losing the last two games, but they dominated the Rockets from start to finish in Sunday’s contest.

Most NBA pundits expected the Rockets to win the decisive game on their home court, but Green, Curry, Buddy Hield, Jimmy Butler and the rest of the Warriors didn’t let that happen.

And Green let everyone hear about it on his way to the locker room.

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