Rockets force Game 6 with emphatic home victory over Warriors

Houston had a 15-0 run in the first quarter, then went on a 18-0 run spanning the first and second quarters to take a 30-point lead just 17 minutes into the game, on its way to a 131-116 win. The Rockets held the Warriors scoreless for nearly seven straight minutes, while Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler didn't score until half of the second quarter had elapsed.

They got huge first-half performances from their starters. Alperen Sengun flirted with a first-half triple-double, notching 12 points, eight assists and six rebounds before halftime. Fred VanVleet scored 19 of his 26 points before the break, continuing his hot shooting from Game 4 by going 4-for-5 behind the arc in the first half.

Amen Thompson was a disruptive force on defense, getting five first-half steals and a block. He finished with 25 points, six rebounds and three blocks.

The game got so out of hand that Warriors coach Steve Kerr waved the white flag midway through the third quarter, pulling his starters down 29 points. Those unheralded reserves cut Houston's lead to 13 points late in the final quarter and forced the Rockets to bring their own starters back in. 

The comeback effort failed when the Warriors missed four shots on one possession, followed by a dustup between Sengun, Trayce Jackson-Davis and lacrosse superstar-turned-NBA-player Pat Spencer that got Spencer his first NBA ejection.

The series goes back to San Francisco on Friday night and the Rockets should have all kinds of confidence. The only consolation for the Warriors is that they got all kinds of rest, with no starter playing more than Butler's 25 minutes. 

That is important, because they can't sleepwalk through the first quarter again.