HOUSTON — The Warriors may very well be down a starter for his or her most vital recreation of the season.
Gary Payton II was listed as questionable with an sickness earlier than Sunday’s shootaround at Toyota Heart. The Warriors are again in Houston for Recreation 7 after permitting a 3-1 sequence result in slip away.
Payton, 32, began Recreation 6 however was minus-12 in 20 minutes whereas scoring simply 5 factors and struggling to maintain up with Fred VanVleet. The Rockets gained the sport 115-107.
Payton averaged 6.5 factors and 0.8 steals per recreation because the workforce’s high defensive guard through the common season. He had a significant impression through the Warriors’ Recreation 3 victory, scoring 16 factors and taking on the fourth quarter along with his opportunistic scoring as Golden State was in a position to come out on high regardless of lacking Jimmy Butler.
This isn’t the primary time a Warrior has fallen ailing throughout this sequence. Brandin Podziemski suffered from meals poisoning throughout Recreation 2 and performed very restricted and ineffective minutes in opposition to a stifling Houston protection.
Ought to the Warriors advance, they’ll play the Wolves in Minneapolis on Tuesday within the second spherical of the playoffs. That recreation — between Minnesota and both the Warriors or the Rockets — is about for a 6:30 p.m. PT tipoff.
Initially Printed: Might 4, 2025 at 12:32 PM PDT
