Golden State celebrates winning the Western Conference. (Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports)
OAKLAND, Calif. — The Golden State Warriors advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in 40 years Wednesday night, closing out a 4-1 series win over the Houston Rockets with a 104-90 triumph in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals.
The Warriors, who dispatched of the New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies and Rockets by winning 12 of 15 games, move on to face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Finals, a best-of-seven series that is scheduled to open in Oakland on June 4.
Cleveland finished off a four-game sweep of the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference finals Tuesday night.
Small forward Harrison Barnes helped the Warriors break open a tight game in their clinching win with four consecutive hoops to cap an 11-2 run that turned a six-point game into an 87-72 Warriors advantage with 7:07 to play.
Barnes’ fourth basket in the run, a fastbreak dunk, came after the Warriors forced Rockets star shooting guard James Harden into his NBA-playoff-record 12th turnover of the game.
The Golden State defense, led by Barnes, Thompson and super-sub swingman Andre Iguodala, harassed Harden into 2-for-11 shooting in the game. He missed all three of his 3-point attempts, finished with 13 turnovers and totaled 14 points, 10 of which came at the free throw line.
Barnes, who recorded 24 points, took charge immediately after Golden State shooting guard Klay Thompson, who had 20 points in his first 22 minutes, left the game after getting kneed in the left ear by Rockets small forward Trevor Ariza.
Thompson, who returned to the bench but not to the game, received three stitches after being taken to the locker room following the foul.
The Rockets closed within nine on two occasions in the final 4:50 but got no closer, ending a season in which they recorded the third-best record in the NBA (56-26) during the regular season.
Point guard Stephen Curry, playing with a sleeve on his right arm following a hard fall in Game 5, led the Warriors with 26 points.
Center Andrew Bogut had 14 rebounds, power forward Draymond Green grabbed 13 boards and backup big man Festus Ezeli had nine to go with 12 points for Golden State, which outrebounded the Rockets 59-39 and won despite shooting just 40.7 percent from the field.
Howard had 18 points and 16 rebounds for the Rockets, who extended the series by winning 128-115 in Game 4.
All five Houston starters scored in double figures, including point guard Jason Terry with 16. Backup guard Corey Brewer also had 16 points for Houston, which was held to 35.1 percent shooting.
The Warriors managed to retain a 74-68 lead heading into the final period thanks to a late 7-0 run after the Rockets closed within two.
Curry bombed in his third 3-pointer of the game and Iguodala turned a steal into a dunk in the flurry, which produced a 74-65 advantage in the final minute of the period.
Golden State played nearly the entire third quarter without Thompson, who picked up a fifth foul just 2:40 into the period.
The Warriors trailed by as many as eight in the first quarter before rallying to take a 52-46 halftime lead.
Thompson led the surge, rebounding from a two-point first quarter to hit five of his seven shots, including three 3-pointers, in a 13-point second period.
Howard had 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in the half, but he also had a technical foul, his seventh of the postseason.
Because of the technical accumulation, he would have been suspended had there been a Game 6.
NOTES: The Warriors own home-court advantage for the Finals because their regular-season record, 67-15, was better than the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 53-29 mark. … The Warriors and Cavaliers split a pair of games during the regular season, each winning at home. … Technically, the sleeve worn by Warriors SG Stephen Curry was designed to provide padding for his elbow, even though Golden State coach Steve Kerr noted it was his star’s shoulder that was sore. … Asked to comment on the league opting not to upgrade Rockets C Dwight Howard’s flagrant foul in Game 4 from Grade 1 to Grade 2, which would have resulted in a one-game suspension, Kerr shrugged it off and said of the NBA’s decision-makers: “We trust them.” … Warriors backup C Marreese Speights participated in running drills during his team’s morning shootaround Wednesday, increasing the likelihood that he will play again for Golden State this postseason.
