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Yet, I couldn’t not bear to watch the game, either. The excitement was too much. So I ran back upstairs to see Trevor Ariza miss one of two free throws with 10 seconds left, which gave the Warriors an opportunity to tie with a two-pointer or to win the game with a three.
The anxiety got to me, and I ran away again. The second time I ran away, I went to my little brother, who was playing Fortnite in the next room. When he tried to start a conversation, I told him to shut up and put on the game on his phone. It managed to load just as Draymond Green turned the ball over to solidify Houston’s 3-2 series lead against the reigning NBA champions. I ran around the house creaming “HE TURNED IT OVER! OH, MY GOD! I TOLD HIM THAT FAKE BEARD WOULD BETRAY HIM.”
I’m not a fan of either team, but the tension of the game, and especially that ending, made me super jittery. It took me almost an hour to come down after it was over.
This game, like so many in this series, was ugly. There were so many dumb turnovers, bad shots, and ridiculous misses. Two of the best offensive teams of all time have devolved into static offenses bailed out by players heaving up shots in hope and desperation.
It was also amazing.It is telling that, in the midst of the giant pickle James Harden and the Houston Rockets find themselves in, I couldn't help but think of a Winston Churchill quote.
"You never can tell," Sir Winston said, "whether bad luck may not after all turn out to be good luck."
I do not expect that the awful, awful luck of Chris Paul's hamstring injury at the end of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals will turn into good luck.
Paul had been brilliant Thursday night. He'd willed the Rockets to victory on the back of hard-fought defense and a whole bunch of off-balance, end-of-shot-clock, second-half shots that somehow found a way to find the bottom of the net. He'd been the tip of the spear of a physical Rockets defense that's often been dominant in this series, forcing the Warriors -- one of the best-assembled rosters and perhaps greatest dynasties in NBA history -- out of their comfort zone.
And then, with less than a minute left in Game 5, Paul pulled up lame after missing a nine-foot floater. As the Warriors, down one to the Rockets, charged to the other end of the court on the most important possession of both teams' seasons, Paul stayed in the backcourt and clutched his hamstring. It was as if the basketball gods exacted a price from the Rockets: Yes, we will allow you a shot at upending this dynasty, but you must sacrifice one of your own.
And now Chris Paul, one win away from his first NBA Finals appearance, will watch from the sidelines in Game 6 and potentially in Game 7 ... if the Warriors extend the series. His destiny rests in the hands of Harden, the presumptive NBA MVP but someone who has, in the biggest moments of his basketball career, turned into a wilting flower.
Even before Paul's injury was announced, the Warriors were still the favorites to win the series despite being down 3-2, and the favorites to win the NBA title.
But for Harden and the Rockets, there is always this thought: In the worst of circumstances comes the best of opportunities.
Want to prove your worth in the biggest of situations?
Well, James Harden, here's your chance.
But it might be time to pray to Saint Jude, the patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes. Because history shows that Harden, when pushed to the brink, has been less than his dominant self.
In Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals last season, when the San Antonio Spurs finished off the Rockets in blowout fashion, Harden simply disappeared. He was 2-of-11 from the field (including 2-of-9 from three). He had six turnovers (after having nine in the game before).
When the Warriors beat the Rockets in five games in the first round of the 2016 playoffs, Harden was decent -- he averaged 26.6 points on 31 percent three-point shooting, and averaged 5.2 turnovers per game -- but his team got smoked. Three of the four losses came by 26 points or more. That entire series felt like a lost cause.
In Game 5 of the 2015 Western Conference finals against the Warriors, Harden -- after a heroic 45-point effort in Houston's Game 4 win -- again struggled, scoring 14 points on 2-of-11 shooting and giving the ball away 12 times.
Hell, his big-spotlight struggles even go back to college. His sophomore year at Arizona State, Harden led the Sun Devils to the NCAA Tournament, and once he got there he laid a massive egg: 1-of-8 for nine points in the first round, 2-of-10 for 10 points in the second round.
It was supposed to be different for him this year, where another future Hall of Famer in the backcourt could ease the scoring burden off Harden, taking off the pressure and allowing him some time to rest. It was different this year: Finally, for the first time since he was a fledgling star with the Oklahoma City Thunder, it wasn't all on him. And it's worked. The Rockets have put the Warriors in their most precarious situation since Golden State acquired Kevin Durant.
Now it almost feels like it's the Rockets, up 3-2, with two shots at making the NBA Finals, who are in the precarious position.
Maybe this will be Harden, Paul and the Rockets' darkest hour, the part of their career where they get this close -- only to have it ripped away.
Or maybe it's Harden's biggest opportunity.
Here's your chance, James. Time to shoot your shot.The Houston Rockets are now just a single win away from coveted berth that they’ve been pursuing all season, a ticket to the NBA Finals. The Rockets pushed this Western Conference Finals series to 3-2 after an completely big win at home court over the Golden State Warriors.
This one was close all over as both ball clubs traded sweeps in the entire contest. Hamptons Five members Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson led the Warriors for a combined 74 points, but it wasn’t enough to claim Game 5. A late-game turnover from Draymond Green sealed the Golden State’s fortune.
The biggest news in this contest though, and maybe the most entertaining portion of these Western Conference Finals, was Chris Paul. He cut into Golden State for 20 points and 6 assists and had a remarkable second half, hitting a number of go ahead buckets for Houston, and filling the emptiness of a struggling James Harden, who went 0-11 from beyond the arc and 5-21 from the range. Eric Gordon had an exceptional night as he shocked many in this game, chipping in 24 points off the bench and hitting a number of late-game three-pointers.
FINAL: Warriors 94, Rockets 98
Although it was a momentous night for the Rockets and it’s fans, everyone will be on the verge of their seats to see if Chris Paul will be able to play in Game 6 after suffering an apparent hamstring injury late minutes in the final quarter.
The Rockets are one win away from advancing to the NBA Finals against whoever win the Cavaliers-Celtics Eastern Conference Finals. But will Houston have Chris Paul as the team attempt to secure it?
While Houston crowd was overjoyed with the Rockets taking a 3-2 series lead in the Western Conference finals thanks to a 98-94 win over the Warriors in Game 5, the party inside Rockets’ locker room were muffled after Paul sustained a right hamstring injury in the Game 5’s final minute.
This series is giving us the conflict that was absent last year as the Warriors walked through the playoffs without ever being tested. It’s what those of us underwhelmed by the Kevin Durant Warriors have been craving all along — real and exciting competition. A challenge for the super team of super teams.
The idea the Warriors should have been appreciated because of their basketball greatness as they swept aside team after team is understandable. Watching anything done that well is its own kind of art. It was always silly to criticize the Warriors for signing Durant or for Durant for going to the Bay, because the goal of each was to win the title and their marriage made the effort easier. It’s the same with every team and every player.
The counter-argument to enjoying these Warriors was never about wanting parity. It was about wanting competition. The Warriors aren’t the first super team the NBA has ever seen, but they are unprecedented in their makeup and even their offensive firepower. They didn’t just feel inevitable, they made the whole journey to the title seem pointless last year. The desire was for something like this series — something that made for a good story, a true challenge, regardless if the Warriors persevere in the end.
What the Warriors did last year lacked the essential part of any good story, which is a driving force behind sporting events. There was no true conflict. No drama. There was no adversity. Not even in the Finals, where they lost one game after taking a 3-0 lead.
The Warriors perfection at the time was like so many novels about a sad middle-class male author who uses everyone else to find some excitement in a world that bores him. These stories are well-executed and technically great, but with nothing to push the characters and force them to change and adapt, they can only be appreciated by how well the story is sweetened — not how good the story actually is. Without the Warriors being pushed to the edge and out of their comfort zone, you learn nothing about what they’re truly capable of doing.
