Buddy Hield’s 33 points helped the Golden State Warriors knock out the Houston Rockets, while Indiana Pacers upset Cleveland Cavaliers in their second-round Eastern Conference series opener.
The Golden State Warriors punched their ticket to the second round of the NBA playoffs, shaking off two straight defeats to grab a 103-89 Game 7 victory over the Houston Rockets.
The Warriors were the last team to advance to the conference semifinals, which got underway earlier on Sunday. In Game 1, the Indiana Pacers defeated Cleveland, the Eastern Conference’s top seed, 121-112 on their home floor.
On a Warriors team stacked with postseason experience, Buddy Hield – playing in his 11th playoff game – drilled nine 3-pointers on 11 attempts on the way to a game-high 33 points.
Stephen Curry scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter as the Warriors finally frustrated the second-seeded Rockets, who were coming off two dominant victories and had visions of becoming just the 14th team to rally from 3-1 down to win an NBA playoff series.
