The Golden State Warriors had their first chance to close out the Houston Rockets in Game 5 on Wednesday night, but nothing went right for Steve Kerr and company from the start. The Rockets took a massive lead in the first half and have continued to pour it on as they lead 112-97 with just under six minutes remaining.
The story of this series so far has been the physicality. Both teams have been beating each other up all series long, leading to some pf the most bruising, physical basketball that NBA fans have been treated to all season. By this point in the series, both teams are banged up and are battling tooth and nail to get to the next round.
Some players in the series are playing through injuries as well. Warriors star Stephen Curry has been battling a thumb injury dating back to the regular season and is wearing tape around his hand to protect it. The Rockets have taken notice, and Warriors fans think Houston may be targeting Curry's injured hand when he is shooting.
Here is a clip from Game 3 where Rockets wing Dillon Brooks appears to swipe at Curry's hand multiple times on his follow through.
Wonder why Brooks was still going at Steph even after the release…
Was he possibly going after his injured right thumb 🤨 pic.twitter.com/p1QImHCZW2
— WarriorsMuse (@WarriorsMuse) April 27, 2025




Then, in Game 5, the Warriors' local broadcast called the Rockets out for another instance where they may have been going at that injured right thumb of the Warriors superstar.
The Rockets appear to be targeting Steph's thumb early on 🤔 pic.twitter.com/wT2bvvCOCw
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 1, 2025
Regardless of whether Curry is injured or not, the Rockets had not really been able to slow him down in this series until Game 5. The two-time MVP has erupted for a pair of 30-point games in two of the Warriors' three wins in this series. Even when the Rockets held him in check in Game 4, he still was able to impact the game and help Golden State get a win.
If Houston wants to come back and win this series, it will have to keep up its defensive effort, intensity and execution on the sharpshooter. In Game 5, Curry scored just 13 points and had seven assists on 4-for-12 shooting before Kerr emptied the bench on the third quarter, so he will be hungry for a bounce-back showing in Game 6.