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Warriors take control in 3rd quarter, never look back

Houston are without star guard Chris Paul because of a strained hamstring. Paul was injured in the fourth quarter of Thursday night's victory that gave the Rockets a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference finals.

OAKLAND, Calif. - The Golden State Warriors took the lead from the Houston Rockets in the third quarter Saturday night and never looked back.

Golden State typically performs well in third quarters and Houston never quite recovered.

Klay Thompson was outstanding for the Warriors, leading all scorers with 35 points. He made nine of his 14 3-point attempts.

James Harden led the way for Houston with 32 points, but only 10 in the second half.

The Warriors win forces a seventh and final game of the series at Toyota Center Monday.

Both the Western and Eastern Conference finals are going seven games.

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The Rockets jumped out to an early lead against the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals.

They led by 10 points at halftime, 61-51.

James Harden leads all scorers with 22 points.

Eric Gordon, who started in place of the injured Chris Paul, started Houston off by making his first three buckets - two of them 3s and another a fast break layup on a Golden State turnover.

Houston took a 39-22 lead at the end of the first quarter.

But the Warriors rallied in the second quarter, cutting the Rockets' lead to single digits thanks in large part to Kevin Durant. He leads all Golden State scorers and he's facilitating.

Still, the Rockets are outshooting the Warriors at halftime, hitting 50 percent overall and from 3. Golden State is shooting only 22 percent from 3 and 42.6 percent overall.

Durant and Klay Thompson lead Golden State with 14 points apiece. Steph Curry chipped in 13 first half points, but missed six of his seven 3-point attempts.

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Golden State went into Game 6 of the Western Conference finals on the brink of elimination. The defending champions trail Houston three games to two after consecutive wins by the Rockets.

Saturday night's game takes place on the Warriors' home court, where they have only lost once in their last 17 playoff games.

Houston is without star guard Chris Paul because of a strained hamstring. Paul was injured in the fourth quarter of Thursday night's victory that gave the Rockets a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference finals.

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Eric Gordon started in Paul's place. He started 30 games this season while Paul and James Harden dealt with injuries.

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