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Warriors Send 7-Word Message After Game 7 Win Over Rockets
Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Heading into Sunday's Game 7 in Houston against the Rockets, Warriors coach Steve Kerr kept an even keel. He knew his team had squandered an excellent opportunity to knock off the Rockets with a home game at Chase Center on Friday, but he also knew that the advantage of having built a 3-1 series lead was that the Dubs would get three cracks at finishing the job. 

The first two were gone. Kerr was confident the third one would not go to waste, even if it was at the Toyota Center and even if the series had been an exhausting one to work through.

“Lots of counter punching, lots of changing strategies between games,” Kerr said. “Obviously, we’ve tried to stay ahead of the curve and throw some different things at them lineup wise. It’s a very classic seven-game series.”

“I think we’re well aware that we had a great opportunity that we didn’t cash in on. But we’ve got another crack at it.”

And this time, they did cash in. The Warriors took control of the game early, maintained a modest lead throughout and pulled away in the fourth quarter to topple the Rockets in Game 7, 103-89. 

In the wake of the win, the team sent out a message on Twitter/X, telling fans, "See you in the Western Conference Semifinals."

The Warriors got solid, if unspectacular, performances from stars Stephen Curry (22 points, 8-for-16 shooting) and Jimmy Butler (20 points, 7-for-13 shooting). It was Buddy Hield who carried the offensive load early, though, as the Rockets threw defensive attention at Curry and left Hield all too open. 

Hield made them pay with 33 points, on 12-for-15 shooting, 9-for-11 from the 3-point line. 

The Warriors were hammered on the boards thanks to Houston's size advantage, but their efficiency with the ball (only seven turnovers) and their accuracy from the 3-point arc (18-for-43) hellped them establish and maintain their edge on the Rockets. 

Golden State won't have much time to enjoy the win. They will get Monday to regroup but bounce back to play the Timberwolves in Minnesota to start the conference semifinals on Tuesday. 

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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