After surviving the NBA play-in tournament, the Golden State Warriors are set to face the Houston Rockets in a best-of-seven first-round series in the Western Conference, starting Sunday night. Shortly after the Warriors secured a 121-116 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies at Chase Center on Tuesday night, the NBA revealed the complete schedule for the upcoming series:
Game 1: Sunday, April 20 – Warriors at Rockets – 6:30 p.m. PT – NBC Sports Bay Area
Game 2: Wednesday, April 23 – Warriors at Rockets – 6:30 p.m. PT – NBC Sports Bay Area
Game 3: Saturday, April 26 – Rockets at Warriors – 5:30 p.m. PT – ABC
Game 4: Monday, April 28 – Rockets at Warriors – 7:00 p.m. PT – NBC Sports Bay Area
Game 5:* Wednesday, April 30 – Warriors at Rockets – Time & TV TBD
Game 6:* Friday, May 2 – Rockets at Warriors – Time & TV TBD
Game 7:* Sunday, May 4 – Warriors at Rockets – Time & TV TBD
Golden State won three of five regular-season meetings with Houston. However, in their most recent clash on April 6 in San Francisco, the Rockets held Stephen Curry to just 1-of-10 shooting, limiting him to three points in a 106-96 defeat for the Warriors. Credit for that defensive effort went to Houston’s second-year guard Amen Thompson.
The winner of the Warriors-Rockets series will advance to face either the Minnesota Timberwolves or the Los Angeles Lakers in the next round.
This marks the fifth playoff matchup between Golden State and Houston, with the Warriors winning each of the previous four series in 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019.
To pull off an upset against the second-seeded Rockets, the Warriors will need standout performances from Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green.
