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USA Today
01-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
NBA unveils schedule for remainder of Rockets-Warriors playoff series
NBA unveils schedule for remainder of Rockets-Warriors playoff series Friday's Game 6 from Golden State will tip at 8:00 p.m. Central and be televised on ESPN, while a Game 7 in Houston would be Sunday night on TNT. With Wednesday's Game 5 results extending the Rockets-Warriors first-round playoff series (thanks to a Houston win) and ending the Timberwolves-Lakers series (with Minnesota advancing), the NBA announced its tipoff times for Friday's Game 6 and a potential Game 7 on Sunday. Game 6 will tip at 8:00 p.m. Central from Golden State's Chase Center, with Friday's game televised to a national audience on ESPN. Should the Rockets (who currently trail the best-of-seven series, 3-2) win and force a Game 7 on Sunday, that would tip at 7:30 p.m. Central from Toyota Center in Houston. Game 7 would be televised nationally on TNT. Tickets will go on sale at 2:00 p.m. Central on Thursday. Because neither game will be on ABC, the Rockets will also have their own regional broadcasts (with Houston's regular-season announcing crew) on Space City Home Network. The Golden State-Houston winner will ultimately face Minnesota, the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, in the second round of the 2025 playoffs. The NBA has yet to announce the schedule for that series, since the start date is likely to vary based on whether the Rockets-Warriors series ends on Friday or Sunday. Game 1 of Rockets-Timberwolves would be played in Houston, while Game 1 of Warriors-Timberwolves would be in Minnesota. The Rockets, as the No. 2 seed in the West, would have home-court advantage over Minnesota — while the No. 7 Warriors would not. More: Space City Home Network to offer local playoff broadcasts for Rockets-Warriors series
USA Today
24-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Rockets win football game on basketball court, even Warriors series
Rockets win football game on basketball court, even Warriors series Show Caption Hide Caption NBA Playoffs: Which top seed do you trust more, Thunder vs. Cavaliers? The Thunder and Cavs are both the top seeds of their conference Even before TNT NBA analyst Stan Van Gundy made the reference early in Game 2 of the Golden State-Houston series, I had the same thought after watching the Rockets' Amen Thompson get clobbered by a screen and watching the Warriors' Draymond Green and the Rockets' Dillon Brooks grab and clutch and crash to the court. It's 1980s and 1990s NBA – reminiscent of the Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat and New York Knicks teams that punished with their physicality and sometimes crossed the line to do so. And I wondered, with all the supposed complaints about the style of today's NBA and the idea that players shoot too many 3-pointers: is that the kind of NBA we want to watch? A football game on the basketball court? MORE: Warriors' Jimmy Butler suffers pelvis contusion after taking hard fall vs. Rockets MORE: Bloodied Kristaps Porzingis exits Game 2 with forehead gash after Flagrant 1 foul The physical series also had its contrast – the back-and-forth shotmaking between the teams near the end of the first half when Golden State's Steph Curry and Houston's Fred VanVleet, Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green traded 3-pointers. What would you rather watch? The game was certainly more entertaining when it wasn't a wrestling match. After dropping Game 1 to the Warriors at home, the Rockets responded with a 109-94 victory in Game 2 Wednesday, tying the best-of-seven first-round Western Conference series at 1-1. It was a great sign for the Rockets who have solid veterans but also have important players under 23 (Sengun, Green, Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason) getting their first playoff experience. It's not easy winning a playoff game, and it's definitely not easy beating the Warriors in the playoffs. Now, Golden State's Jimmy Butler left the game late in the first quarter after he fell hard to the ground when he was inadvertently undercut by Thompson on a rebound attempt. He didn't return with what the team called a bruised pelvis. He will underdo an MRI. Starting guard Brandin Podziemski played just 14 minutes because of an illness. The Warriors had just one player in double figures through three quarters, and that was All-Star Steph Curry who finished with 20 points. Still, the Rockets needed to make shots, and they did. Jalen Green scored a team-high 38 points and contributed six assists, four rebounds and three steals, joining Rockets greats Elvin Hayes, Hakeem Olajuwon, Moses Malone and James Harden as the only players 23 or younger in franchise history to score at least 30 in a playoff game. Sengun, a first-time All-Star this season, had 17 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and two steals, and Eason scored 14 points. Veterans VanVleet, Brooks and Steven Adams are perfect matches for the young players. It's a fun Rockets team that should only get better over the next few seasons. Even though the Rockets earned the No. 2 seed with a 52-30 record, the seventh-seeded Warriors were a reasonable pick to win the series, especially with their late-season success following the trade for Butler. The series is far from over though Butler's health will play a big part in the outcome. The Rockets showed they can win with force and finesse. They clobbered Golden State with a 47-33 edge in rebounds and also made 15 3-pointers. The Rockets need to stick to that without letting Draymond Green and the Warriors rattle them with experience, trash talk and instigating tactics. Follow NBA columnist Jeff Zillgitt on social media @JeffZillgitt
