OAKLAND, Calif. — In Game 5 of the 2018 Western Conference finals, Chris Paul grabbed his hamstring and limped off. The Houston Rockets managed to win anyway to go up 3-2, but he was finished and the Rockets dropped the next two games and the series to the Golden State Warriors.
In Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals last night, Kevin Durant grabbed his right calf in Game 5 and limped off. The Warriors managed to win anyway, 104-99, to go up 3-2, but he is … well, let’s see where he and this series goes from here.
Once again, a non-contact injury to a significant player casts a spell on Rockets vs. Warriors, throwing everything for a loop. It’s all about the recovery powers of Durant, whose right calf strain was placed on the clock 48 hours before a looming Game 6 in Houston, with an MRI pending before the team plane leaves Oakland.
Update: Durant to miss remainder of semifinals after MRI confirms calf strain
He wore a limp and an empty expression after the game, obviously concerned and certainly confused. He was hoping he didn’t play his final game of this series or, worst case scenario, in a Warriors’ uniform (Durant will be a free agent this summer).
Sure, this isn’t as ominous as Paul’s hamstring which instantly shut him down for the summer.
He missed three games last year with the same injury, although the severity won’t necessarily be identical. For the Warriors, this is a hope-for-the-best, prepare-for-the-worst situation.
“We’re going to have to find a way,” said coach Steve Kerr. “He’s been on this incredible playoff run. Hopefully we can do enough to win one more game in this series. That’s the plan.”
As painful as it was for Durant when he winced after drilling a 3-pointer, the real ache was experienced by the Rockets, who blew a chance to win and close out the series at home. Tied after three quarters and no Durant, the elements that the Rockets showed in the previous two games, both wins, turned to vapor. There was no grit, no furious 3-point response and curiously no James Harden, who shockingly took just three shots in the quarter for a quiet five points and never seized the moment.
PJ Tucker stepped on the line while hitting a 3-pointer. Paul had his shot blocked by Kevon Looney. And Harden chose to defer when, up until this point in this series, his foot stayed on the accelerator. If the Rockets lose this series, they will rue the fourth quarter where they didn’t attack or reach for the jugular of a Warriors’ team that played at a major disadvantage.
“I don’t think we relaxed,” Paul said. “It was just a few big plays. You know what I mean?”
It was one of the biggest quarters of the Kerr era, considering the circumstances. They asked Stephen Curry to bail them out and he did so, looking not quite as deadly as he was prior to Durant’s arrival in 2016 when he carried the Warriors, but good enough.
“I think you saw Steph go into a different mode when Kevin went out,” Kerr said. “He knew things were going to run through him. He was brilliant when we absolutely needed him.”
Curry had 12 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, with Klay Thompson assisting with seven. Durant replacement Looney was uplifting, getting sneaky with a key offensive rebound (which he passed to Thompson for a 3-pointer), blocked shot and steal in the closing moments. Even Jonas Jerebko hit a critical 3-pointer. The Warriors somehow managed to pull it off — thank you very much, Rockets — but now the intrigue begins.
“If Kevin is out, then what you saw in the fourth quarter is what you’re going to have to see going forward,” Kerr said.
They’ll certainly lean on Curry, who won a pair of Kia MVPs prior to Durant and is one of the greatest shooters in history, although you wonder if his knees might buckle. Curry hasn’t lifted his game all postseason and has lapsed in and out of a case of the shooting yips. Even in the early moments Wednesday, he whiffed on three layups and didn’t score his first basket until the second quarter. For his career, Curry’s impact in the postseason hasn’t matched his regular season impact. In this series, Curry is shooting 26.3 percent on 3-pointers, abysmal for him. But because Durant has been scorching — averaging 33.2 points per game against the Rockets — Curry’s miscues have only been mildly irritating.
“We trust the man,” Thompson said. “Everybody in this world trusts him with the ball in his hands. His track record has proven it. He’s coming up in the clutch.”
Additionally, Thompson can’t afford the dry spells that plagued his first four games of this series. Thompson managed to break out of the fog with a strong first half Wednesday, disappeared in the third before rising again in the fourth. The Warriors will need more than just Curry to compensate for Durant’s scoring.
“It’s frustrating when you don’t play up to your standards,” Thompson said. “I’m never going to waver with my confidence when it comes to shooting. That’s what got me to this point. Just want to be aggressive from the jump and make the right play. It’s that simple.”
The pre-Durant Warriors won two titles, 73 games in a season and reached three NBA Finals. But this isn’t pre-2017. Andre Iguodala’s age is up and production is slightly down. Andrew Bogut is on the bench. And speaking of which, this bench is weaker (with no David West or Leandro Barbosa).
Understand that the tightness of this series places an urgency on both teams to produce at a high level, or else. There hasn’t been a blowout win by either team and Game 5 was decided much like the previous four — by three or four plays that swung the outcome.
“This series has been a battle,” Thompson said. “Each game, such little margin for error. We know we’re going to have to be near perfect down (in Houston) without Kevin and win a game. It’s going to be hard.”
Can the Warriors keep it close without Durant for four quarters, assuming he’s a no-go for Friday? Do they have a choice?
“We have to collectively make up for what he does,” Thompson said. “We’ve done it before. It’s going to be incredibly difficult. I know (the Rockets) aren’t going to feel sorry for us, or the media or the fans. It will be gut check time. We go down there and give it our best effort. If we do that, I have confidence every man on this team will step up in his absence.”
When Durant signed as a free agent with the Warriors in the summer of 2016, it caused ripples of annoyance throughout the league. Here was an NBA champion that came a game from winning another title and then added an MVP in his prime.
The jealousy and fear was not unfounded as the Warriors have led a charmed life ever since. They ripped through two more titles and lost only one Finals game with Durant, who won back-to-back Finals MVPs.
But if they must proceed the rest of this series without Durant, compassion isn’t something they can expect. Because for the Warriors, who bring the “Splash Brothers,” Draymond Green and plenty of championship experience, they know the deal. They know what Durant, once seen as an added luxury, means to their mix.
“We’re not the same team without him,” Thompson said.
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter .
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