Buddy Hield shows up big for Warriors in first Game 7 of his career

Stephen Curry inserted the dagger with to play and Buddy Hield twisted it in the hearts of the Houston Rockets on the next possession After three tries and a hard-fought Tournament the Warriors are moving on and while that became clear when Curry sank a step-back to put them up by it was only fitting that Hield was the one who put a bow on the - win Sunday night The corner to extend the lead to was Hield s eighth of the night and he would add one more before time expired to finish with a team-best points on -of- shooting from distance That s what the encounter called for and he answered it Curry noted And if I didn t throw him a grenade he would have been for added Draymond Green He made winning plays all night True Hield logged a season-high minutes took on defensive assignments against Fred VanVleet and Jalen Green and didn t stop making s after halftime But in the first Championship of his career Hield will be largest part remembered for his first half The Warriors entered the locker room up - mostly thanks to points from a red-hot Hield With the Rockets successfully stifling Batman Curry and Robin Jimmy Butler III Alfred knocked down six of his seven -point attempts before intermission Buddy getting hot changed the whole championship in the first half coach Steve Kerr explained It s impossible to know where the Warriors would be without Hield s lights-out display in the first half but Kerr disclosed he never wavered over keeping him in the starting five The shooting bonanza came just one event after Hield was held scoreless while missing all four of his attempts from the field in a Contest loss He scored four points in Challenge and combined for seven with one -pointer in the first two games of the series His best meeting so far came off the bench when he scored in Competition and convinced Kerr to insert him into the starting lineup for Championship That combination alongside Curry Butler Green and Brandin Podziemski Kerr noted was by far our best five-man unit of the series Talking to Kevon Looney on the bench Hield remarked on his spot in the starting lineup Like man I m so glad I m starting tonight I don t know how it would ve been coming off the bench because coming off the bench in a Battle would have been really hard Hield reported So just starting and getting the jitters out It s a childhood dream We all talk about Contest we all want to play in Championship But literally playing in a Match and getting prepared for it it s one of the hardest things ever This is Hield s ninth season in the NBA but only his second taste of the playoffs He was eliminated in four games with the Philadelphia ers last spring His first Tournament wasn t just one to remember but one for the record books His nine -pointers tied Donte DiVincenzo with the Knicks last May for the most of in any Competition in postseason history while his points were the the majority by any member held scoreless the previous tournament Yet his shooting wasn t all his teammates cared to talk about Hield helped contain VanVleet to just -of- from beyond the arc and Jalen Green to eight points total This was not just a lights-out shooting performance from Buddy it was a two-way performance Kerr mentioned I thought his defense was fantastic The points were great nine s incredible Green added But what he did on the defensive end was even more impressive Related Articles How Draymond Green s apology at squad dinner galvanized Warriors ahead of Contest Kurtenbach Surprise The old battered Warriors vanquished the Rockets again Photos Buddy Hield leads Golden State Warriors past Houston Rockets in playoff Tournament NBA playoffs Warriors vs Timberwolves series schedule TV information Warriors eliminate Rockets in Competition behind Hield s hot start Curry and Butler s closing touch He s a tough cover for sure when he s making shots but he made so multiple right plays on the defensive side of the ball getting the ball where it needed to go Butler explained paying his pal a rare compliment Buddy was really really really big for us tonight The Bahamian s easy-going personality has been a source of levity in the locker room especially since Butler s arrival but he proved he was locked in for the majority crucial challenge of his career Sound familiar If there was such a thing as Event Klay could there be Challenge Buddy To have that shooter s confidence that the battle says shoot and let it fly and we ll live with it I m happy for him because he works so hard all year Curry disclosed Getting to know him this season you see how much basketball means to him and knowing this is only his second playoff run to have a championship like that in a Encounter it s pretty special