Golden State takes Game 7 to set up rematch with Cavs for NBA title

HOUSTON – Stephen Curry and Golden State turned all those Houston bricks into a road back to the NBA Finals.

Needing not only all their firepower but also 27 straight misses by the Rockets during an epic cold streak from three-point range, the Warriors rallied to keep alive their hopes for a repeat.

Kevin Durant scored 34 points, Curry sparked another third-quarter turnaround, and the Warriors earned a fourth straight trip to the NBA Finals by beating the Rockets 101-92 in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals on Monday night.

The defending champions trailed by as many as 15 in the first half after falling behind 17 in Game 6.

"We know we can make an 11-point lead evaporate with two minutes of good basketball," Warriors guard Klay Thompson said.

Curry, who finished with 27 points, scored 14 of Golden State's 33 points in the third quarter as Houston's shooting didn't just go cold, it froze. The Rockets missed all 14 three-point attempts in that quarter as part of a 1-for-21 second half from long range.

The Warriors will host LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 on Thursday night in the fourth consecutive NBA Finals between the teams.

"We just didn't have that extra juice that we needed," Harden said.

The Rockets fell apart in the second half again after doing so in Game 6. The Warriors outscored Houston 122-63 in the second half of the final two games.

"It's amazing how long the NBA game is," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "Forty-eight minutes, it lasts a long time and there's so many opportunities to get yourself going as a team. And with our team, there's just so much firepower, we're going to get going."

The Rockets finished 7-for-44 on three-pointers, with Trevor Ariza missing all nine of his attempts, Eric Gordon going 2-for-12 and Harden going 2-for-13.

The Rockets were behind by 13 after a three by Curry and had missed 27 consecutive three-pointers when P.J. Tucker hit one from the corner to cut the lead to 89-79 midway through the quarter.

"We were lucky to escape out of here," Kerr said.

After being down by 10 at halftime of Game 6, the Warriors trailed by 11 entering the third quarter on Monday. Golden State opened the third quarter with a 10-4 run to cut the lead to 58-53 after a three-pointer by Nick Young with about eight minutes left in the quarter.

Tucker made one of two free throws and the teams exchanged layups before Golden State scored nine straight points, with two threes from Curry, to take a 64-61 lead.

Harden made two free throws before Curry scored eight points in a row, highlighted by a three-pointer which bounced high off the rim before falling back in, to make it 72-63 with just over two minutes left in the quarter.