Rockets wreck Warriors' party

The Houston Rockets rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Golden State 122-121 on Tuesday night, after the Warriors were presented with their NBA championship rings in a pregame ceremony.

Golden State had one last chance with 0.6 seconds left after Kevin Durant came up with the ball following Stephen Curry's missed jumper.

Durant drained his shot and the Warriors thought they'd won as confetti began to fall, but the two remaining officials - the third got hurt in the fourth quarter - reviewed the play and said Durant's shot was after the buzzer.

Trevor Ariza's 3-pointer with 2:09 remaining pulled Houston within 119-118 before Patrick McCaw hit a baseline jumper immediately after Golden State's timeout. James Harden made a layup and PJ Tucker hit two free throws with 44.1 to make it 122-121.

Nick Young came off the bench to hit six 3-pointers and score 23 points in a brilliant Warriors debut, while Curry scored 22 points and Durant had 20. Klay Thompson added 16 points.

Chris Paul had four points on 2-for-9 shooting in his Rockets debut, while Harden scored 27 points and Eric Gordon 24 for the Rockets.

Houston opened the fourth with a 9-0 run.

Associated Press

(China Daily 10/19/2017 page24)