Stephen Curry proved once again that he can do whatever the Warriors need him to do to come out on top. In a 103-89 win at Houston in Game 7 of the Rockets vs. Warriors series, Curry did everything in his power to ensure the Warriors clinched a spot in the second round of the NBA Playoffs 2025. But he wasn’t alone in providing the veteran experience to the team, as Buddy Hield also stepped up in arguably his best performance of the season to put the final nail in the Rockets’ coffin.
Curry struggled to score the ball in the first half and only had three points, making only one of the seven shots he attempted. However, he had six rebounds and five assists to go with that. Yet, the Warriors went into the first half up by 12 points. All thanks to a Buddy Hield heater run where he scored 22 points in the first half, which included 14 points in just the second quarter. Hield finished the game with 33 points, including nine 3-point shots made from the field.
In the second half, Curry found his rhythm on offense. The 37-year-old Warriors vet played 46 minutes in the game, where he finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists. He made seven of his nine shots in the incredibly efficient second half, including three 3-point makes. With the defence completely focused on Curry in this series, the Warriors star likely knew that he may not be able to score at his usual level. Therefore, he elected to contribute in other ways as well, like drawing out the defense, using his incredible reflexes to get steals, and initiating the fastbreaks.
The Warriors will now proceed to the second round to face Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves. Since the Warriors were the No. 7 seed and the Timberwolves were No. 6, the Timberwolves will have the home-court advantage as Game 1 of that series will be in Minnesota.
The Future Is Bright In Houston: What Next For The Rockets?
Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun are slowly proving to be the franchise duo of the Rockets. The lack of playoff experience was almost not visible for Thompson, as he displayed flurries of his incredible athleticism, ball handling, and elite play-making abilities. He led all scorers for the Rockets in Game 7 with 24 points and 9 rebounds.
The Turkish All-Star Sengun had a rather rough game as opposed to what fans expected from him. He had 21 points, making 9 of 23 shot attempts, and only scoring 50% of his four free throw attempts. Sengun missed multiple open lay-ups, which he usually made with ease during the regular season. Maybe the pressure of a Game 7 mentally affected the 22-year-old star. Nonetheless, a learning experience for this young duo as the Rockets made the playoffs for the first time since the Bubble season.
What the Rockets need to do now is figure out a solution to their Jalen Green problem. While some may argue that it was his first experience in the Playoffs, Green scored 38 points in Game 2 of the series at home. In the remaining six games, he had 55 points combined. Not what you expect from the top scorer of the season for the team. Especially after talking trash to the opponents and then doing this.
Since this series made it evident that the Rockets need a superstar to take them to the next level, Green becomes the most obvious choice for the Rockets to trade away. If the front office decides to pull the trigger on a trade for a superstar in Houston, it will be very surprising if they manage to pull it off without letting Jalen Green go.
