NBA Playoffs
Western Conference - Finals
Tip-off: Wednesday, 9:05 p.m. ET
Line: Golden State -10.5, Total: 217.0

The Warriors look to close out the Rockets in Golden State on Wednesday, as a meeting with the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals is just one win away.

Houston came out with the energy it needed in Game 4, beating Golden State 128-115 as a 4.5-point home underdog to avoid elimination. The Rockets were scorching hot in the game, shooting 56.6% from the floor and 53.1% from the outside in the game. They outrebounded the Warriors 60-50 and will need to bring that same type of effort into Golden State, as they can really startle the Warriors if they can pull off an upset at Oracle Arena Wednesday. Prior to the Rockets’ Game 4 win, the Warriors had gone 8-1 SU and 6-3 ATS in the previous nine meetings between these two teams. The Rockets haven’t won at Oracle Arena since Dec. 13, 2013, losing five straight games in Golden State SU and three of those five ATS. Houston is 25-10 ATS after a win by 10 points or more this season and 58-39 ATS in all games this year. The Warriors, however, are 8-0 ATS after two straight games where they were called for 25 or more fouls over the past two seasons. SG K.J. McDaniels (Elbow), PF Donatas Motiejunas (Back) and PG Patrick Beverley (Wrist) are out for the remainder of the year for Houston and Golden State continues to be without PF Marreese Speights (Calf) indefinitely.

The Rockets fought off elimination in Houston in Game 4 and SG James Harden (28.0 PPG, 7.7 APG, 5.7 RPG, 1.6 SPG in playoffs) was at his best when his team needed him. Harden finished the game with 45 points, nine boards, five assists, two blocks and two steals in 40 minutes of action. He went 13-for-22 from the floor and 7-for-11 from the outside in the game and will need to be equally as aggressive on Wednesday. PF Josh Smith (13.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2.8 APG in playoffs) will need to play another good offensive game in order to send this back to Houston. He had 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and two blocks in 28 minutes of action on Monday. He was 7-for-8 from the floor and 3-for-4 from the outside and really gave his team a huge boost in the first quarter. SG Trevor Ariza (13.1 PP, 6.4 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.8 SPG in playoffs) had 17 points, five boards and two steals in Game 4. He continues to play very well defensively and has hit 47% of his threes over the past five games. C Dwight Howard (16.3 PPG, 13.9 RPG, 2.2 BPG in playoffs) had 14 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and two steals in Game 4. He was a force inside defensively and must continue to make things difficult on the Warriors around the rim moving forward.

The Warriors had a chance to sweep the Rockets on Monday, but a bad first quarter ultimately left them in too big of a hole to climb out of. PG Stephen Curry (29.4 PPG, 6.4 APG, 4.7 RPG, 1.6 SPG in playoffs) took a hard fall on his head in the second quarter of the game, but he will play on Wednesday. He has hit an average of 6.0 threes per game in this series and will need to continue to be aggressive in looking for his shot in Game 5. One positive for Golden State on Monday was that SG Klay Thompson (19.7 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.9 APG in playoffs) showed some signs of life for the first time in this series. When Curry went down, Thompson nearly brought the Warriors back by himself. He had 24 points and two steals in the game and will need to bring some offensive firepower to the table in Game 5. He is far too good of a shooter to be looking as invisible as he has in this series. PF Draymond Green (14.4 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 5.4 APG, 1.8 SPG, 1.2 BPG in playoffs) fouled out of Game 4, but he was excellent when he was on the floor. Green finished the contest with 21 points, 15 boards, five blocks and four assists in 40 minutes of action. He has been a menace in the paint in this series and will need to continue to be ferocious on the glass for the Warriors to finish the Rockets off.