Warriors best Rockets 109-106, giving Golden State 3-1 series lead

    Written by: Miles Jordan •

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    Second quarter scuffle breaks out, instigated by Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Dillon Brooks

    A newfound rivalry is budding in the West.

    Tempers flared, technicals were assessed, and the animosity between these two franchises kept growing.

    Jimmy Butler scored 27 points in his return from injury, sinking three free throws with 58.7 seconds left and grabbing the game-clinching rebound as the Golden State Warriors edged the Houston Rockets 109-106 on Monday to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round series.

    Fred VanVleet missed a contested 3-pointer at the buzzer, sending the series back to Houston for Game 5 on Wednesday with the seventh-seeded Warriors looking to eliminate the No. 2 seed.

    Brandin Podziemski scored 26 points, Stephen Curry added 17, and Buddy Hield — inserted into the starting lineup — hit a key go-ahead three with 3:32 left and finished with 15.

    Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 31 points and 10 rebounds, while VanVleet scored 25 and hit a game-tying three with 1:20 remaining. Sengun’s layup with 40 seconds left brought Houston within one, but Butler iced the game with two more free throws in the final seconds.

    Butler had missed Game 3 due to a pelvic contusion and deep gluteal bruise suffered on a hard fall in Game 2. He returned Monday to shoot 7-of-12 in 40 minutes.

    The game featured rising tensions, with four technical fouls and a flagrant in the second quarter. One sequence saw Curry, Draymond Green, and Dillon Brooks exchanging shoves after a hard foul. Both teams had players warned or penalized as officials reviewed multiple altercations.

    Green later received a Flagrant 1 for pushing Tari Eason’s face to the floor during a scramble for a loose ball, while Eason was assessed a technical.

    The Warriors now hold a commanding lead with a chance to close the series on the road, while Houston faces elimination after back-to-back close losses.

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