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With the Cleveland Cavaliers and the NBA Finals waiting, the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets will square off in game five of the Western Conference Finals. While Golden State leads the series three games to one, they only won the first two games by a combined five points, and the two teams traded blowouts in the most recent two.
The Warriors will once again look to knock Houston out of contention, but the Rockets have proven to be Hard to Kill. They have won the last four games in which they faced elimination, coming back from being down three games to one against the Los Angeles Clippers to win their previous series. However, the series now moves back to Oracle Arena, where the Warriors are 45-3 this season. Are the Rockets truly the team of destiny? Or can league MVP Stephen Curry and the Warriors finally ground James Harden and company to advance to their first NBA Finals since 1975?
| Western Conference Finals, Game 5 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | @ | 3-1 |
| Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA | ||
| 6:00 pm PST | ||
| ESPN | ||
| Probable Starters | ||
| Jason Terry | PG | Stephen Curry |
| James Harden | SG | Klay Thompson |
| Trevor Ariza | SF | Harrison Barnes |
| Terrence Jones | PF | Draymond Green |
| Dwight Howard | C | Andrew Bogut |
| Injury Report | ||
| none | none | |
| Series Stats | ||
| 103.0 | PPG | 109.8 |
| .456 | FG% | .474 |
| .363 | 3PT% | .386 |
| .620 | FT% | .676 |
| 47.3 | REB | 42.8 |
| 21.0 | AST | 27.5 |
| 8.3 | STL | 8.5 |
| 6.3 | BLK | 6.5 |
| Series Advanced Stats | ||
| 100.9 | Pace | 104.4 |
| 102.2 | Off Rtg | 106.1 |
| 108.7 | Def Rtg | 108.6 |
| Officials | ||
| Ken Mauer | ||
| Tony Brothers | ||
| Ed Malloy | ||