Golden State Warriors players celebrate after Game 5 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals against the Houston Rockets in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, May 27, 2015. The Warriors won 104-90 and advanced to the NBA Finals. AP PHOTO
OAKLAND, California — Golden State’s 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 Houston on Wednesday (Thursday, Manila time).
After decades of wishing and waiting for this moment, the Warriors have finally arrived. They 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 Cleveland beginning June 4.
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All five Rockets starters scored at least 10 points, but MVP runner-up James Harden had a forgettable finale. Harden had a playoff-record 13 turnovers and scored 14 points on 2-of-11 shooting.
Dwight Howard led Houston with 18 points and 16 rebounds.