OAKLAND, Calif. — After a generation of wishing and waiting, the Golden State Warriors have finally arrived on basketball’s biggest stage again.
Stephen Curry had 26 points and eight rebounds, Harrison Barnes added 24 points and the Warriors advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in 40 years with a 104-90 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
“Why not us?” Curry said to a roaring, golden-yellow shirt wearing crowd after the Warriors received the Western Conference trophy from Alvin Attles, the coach of their last championship team in 1975.
“The Bay Area’s been waiting for 40 years,” Curry said later. “I think it’s time.”
The Warriors shook off a slow start and sweated out a shaky finish in Game 5 to close out the Rockets and set up a matchup with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers beginning June 4.
It was hardly the prettiest performance — but one they’ll savor nonetheless.
Yellow streams and confetti fell from the rafters when the final buzzer sounded. The Warriors shared hugs and handshakes, and the crowd chanted “M-V-P!” for Curry.
He relished the moment on the court with his 2-year-old daughter, Riley, who joined him in his postgame news conference — laughing, playfully interrupting him and walking around the room again.
“I think she’s taking advantage of the moment for sure,” Curry quipped.
Dwight Howard led Houston with 18 points and 16 rebounds. But MVP runner-up James Harden had a forgettable finale, with a playoff-record 13 turnovers and 14 points on 2-of-11 shooting.
“Tried to do a little bit too much and turned the ball over and gave them easy baskets in transition,” Harden said. “This isn’t where we wanted to end at. It’s a really good season for us. Next year we want to be better, and we will.”
It was a tough way for the Rockets’ run to end. They overcame a knee injury that sidelined Howard half the season to finish second in the West, played without starters Patrick Beverley and Donatas Motiejunas in the playoffs and rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Los Angeles Clippers in the second round.
The Warriors were one obstacle Houston couldn’t clear.
“The guys fought hard,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. “One thing about the team is that they were battlers, and a lot of guys in that room you feel pretty comfortable going to war with.”
Curry said he had no lingering effects from his frightening fall in Game 4 that left him with a bruised head and right side. The MVP wore a protective yellow sleeve on his right arm, which he shed in the third quarter after shooting 4 for 12 and the Warriors clinging to a 52-46 halftime lead.
Things got tougher on Curry and the Warriors when backcourt mate Thompson faked a shot that drew Trevor Ariza in the air early in the fourth quarter. Thompson absorbed Ariza’s knee to the side of his head, sending him to the floor.
Thompson, who finished with 20 points, lay on the ground for a minute before walking to the locker room. He came back to the bench after receiving stitches on his right ear.
The Warriors said he could’ve returned, but they never needed him. They started the fourth on a 13-4 run and held off Houston’s last-ditch efforts on free throws.
Barnes highlighted the decisive spurt with a dunk that gave Golden State an 87-72 lead with 7:10 remaining. He flexed his muscles to the sellout crowd of 19,596, which spent the final quarter on its feet in anticipation of a celebration a generation in the works.
Now it’s LeBron vs. Curry.
King James vs. the Baby-Faced Assassin.
The four-time NBA MVP vs. the newly crowned MVP.
