Warriors pushed to Game 7, but confidence 'not wavering' - ESPN

SAN FRANCISCO — After blowing a chance to close out the series for the second straight time, the Golden State Warriors head to Houston on Saturday remaining confident despite having to play a Game 7 to keep their season alive.

Houston stunned the Warriors at Chase Center with stifling defense in the fourth quarter to even this series at 3-3 with a 115-107 win on Friday night.

«So we're going to win together, we're going to lose together,» Golden State star Jimmy Butler said. «I know we're definitely going to win together come Sunday.

»We're good. We're smiling. We're listening to our music, celebrating life. We're ready to compete. We were ready to compete tonight. Things didn't go our way. OK, we're going to be ready to compete on Sunday. We're going to make the game go our way."

From the play-in tournament to the NBA Finals, ESPN has you covered throughout the playoffs.

• Game-by-game analysis: East |West
• Paine: What a title would say for each playoff team
• Herring: Key matchups in each first-round series
• Pelton: Projecting each series through the Finals
• Offseason guide: What's next for eliminated teams
• What to know: News, schedule, scores, highlights

The Warriors express confidence because of their advantage in playoff experience, in particular their Game 7 experience. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green have played in five such do-or-die games, going 3-2. Their last Game 7 came in 2023 when Golden State won at Sacramento 120-100 to take that first-round series.

Curry scored 50 points in that victory. He has averaged 32.6 points in Game 7s in his career, fourth most by any player in NBA history, according to ESPN Research. Curry trails only Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Michael Jordan.

Butler has played in four