VanVleet and Thompson lead the way as Rockets avoid elimination, routing Warriors 131-116 in Game 5

HOUSTON (AP) — Pushed to the brink of elimination, the Houston Rockets delivered a playoff gem Wednesday night to beat the Golden State Warriors and keep their season alive.

Fred VanVleet scored 26 points, Amen Thompson added 25 and the Rockets extended their first-round playoff series with a 131-116 rout in Game 5.

“Nobody wants to go home,” Alperen Sengun said.

Game 6 is Friday in San Francisco.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr threw in the towel early in this one with the game out of hand. A layup by VanVleet midway through the third quarter made it 93-64, and Kerr called timeout and cleared his bench.

Houston coach Ime Udoka followed suit with about a minute to go in the third and his team up 105-76. He put all his starters back in with about eight minutes left after Golden State cut the lead to 109-92.

Dillon Brooks added 24 points on a night when all five Houston starters scored in double figures.

VanVleet, a nine-year veteran who won a title against Golden State while with Toronto in 2019, tried to encourage his young teammates by reminding them that they've been in every game.

“Keep everything light and fresh and and confident and understand that we have played good basketball,” he said. “It's not like we were getting our (expletive) kicked the whole time.”

A 9-5 run by the Warriors got them within 114-101 before a fracas broke out with about four minutes to go. Pat Spencer pushed Brooks and then was ejected after headbutting Alperen Sengun in the ensuing scuffle.

Houston went on a 7-2 run after that to put the game away.

“Houston was great and they took it to us right away,” Kerr said. “But like I said, it was an important finish.”

Reserve Moses Moody led the Warriors with 25 points. Golden State's 76 bench points were the most in a playoff game for the franchise since 1970-71, when starters began being tracked.

The Rockets put together their best performance this postseason after losing both games in California, including Game 3, which Jimmy Butler sat out with an injury.

“We came out aggressive, executed offensively and defensively,” Jalen Green said. “We had a professional approach and handled business.”

The Rockets raced to a 14-point lead after one quarter and by the time Stephen Curry made his first basket on a 3-pointer midway through the second, they led 55-32.

They had a 27-point lead at halftime behind 19 points from VanVleet.

Butler managed just eight points in 25 minutes on 2-of-10 shooting after combining for 52 points in the two full games he’d played in this series.

Curry was 4 of 12 for 13 points after scoring more than 30 points in two of the first four games to move the Warriors within a game of clinching the series.

The Warriors made 15 of 44 3-pointers and shot 41.7% overall. The Rockets made 13 of 30 3s and shot 55.1%.

By extending the series, the Rockets have a chance to become the 14th team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-seven series. Houston has done it twice, most recently in the 2015 Western Conference semifinals against the Clippers.

The Warriors were on the wrong end of such a comeback, losing the 2016 NBA Finals to LeBron James and Cleveland after having a 3-1 advantage.

Golden State has dominated the Rockets in the playoffs, eliminating them four times between 2015 and 2019.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. (10) shoots over Golden State Warriors center Quinten Post (21) during the second half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Houston Rockets forward Amen Thompson has his shot blocked by Golden State Warriors forward Braxton Key (12) during the second half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 30, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Brandin Podziemksi (2), Jimmy Butler (10) and Stephen Curry (30) react on the bench in the final seconds of the second half as the Golden State Warriors played the Houston Rockets in Game 5 of the First Round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Stephen Curry (30) walks off the court after the Golden State Warriors lost to the Houston Rockets in Game 5 of the First Round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III (10) shoots around Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun during the first half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 30, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Houston Rockets forward Amen Thompson high fives fans after Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Golden State Warriors guard Buddy Hield (7) sits on the bench during the second half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Golden State Warriors guard Moses Moody (4) dunks against the Houston Rockets during the first half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 30, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

From left; Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III, guard Brandin Podziemski and guard Stephen Curry (30) sit on the bench during the second half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III (10) shoots over Houston Rockets forward Amen Thompson (1) during the second half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green, left, drives on Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry during the second half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) watches from the sidelines during the first half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) shoots over Golden State Warriors forward Kevon Looney during the first half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet (5) drives past Golden State Warriors guard Moses Moody during the first half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun, left, argues with the referee during the second half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry watches from the bench during the second half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks (9) backs down Golden State Warriors guard Moses Moody (4) during the second half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet (5) shoots against he Golden State Warriors during the first half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

SYDNEY (AP) — Two gunmen attacked a Hannukah celebration on a Sydney beach Sunday, killing at least 11 people in what Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called an act of antisemitism and terrorism.

The massacre at one of Australia’s most popular and iconic beaches followed a wave of antisemitic attacks that have roiled the country over the past year, although the authorities didn’t suggest those episodes and Sunday’s shooting were connected. It is the deadliest shooting for almost three decades in a country with strict gun control laws.

One gunman was fatally shot by police and the second, who was arrested, was in critical condition, authorities said. Police said one of the gunmen was known to the security services, but that there had been no specific threat.

At least 29 people were confirmed wounded, including two police officers, said Mal Lanyon, the police commissioner for New South Wales state, where Sydney is located.

Police said officers were examining a number of suspicious items, including several improvised explosive devices found in one of the suspect’s cars.

“This attack was designed to target Sydney's Jewish community,” the state's premier, Chris Minns, said. The massacre was declared a terrorist attack due to the event targeted and weapons used, Lanyon said.

Hundreds had gathered for the Chanukah by the Sea event celebrating the start of the eight-day Hanukkah festival.

Chabad, an Orthodox Jewish movement that runs scores of centers around the world that are popular with Jewish travelers and sponsors large public events during major Jewish holidays, identified one of the dead as Rabbi Eli Schlanger, assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi and a key organizer of the event.

Video footage filmed by onlookers appeared to show two gunmen with long guns firing from a footbridge leading to the beach. One dramatic clip broadcast on Australian television showed a man appearing to tackle and disarm one of the gunmen, before pointing the man’s weapon at him, then setting the gun on the ground.

Minns called the man a “genuine hero.”

Police said emergency services were called to Campbell Parade in Bondi about 6.45 p.m. responding to reports of shots being fired.

Lachlan Moran, 32, from Melbourne, told The Associated Press he was waiting for his family nearby when he heard shots. He dropped the beer he was carrying for his brother and ran.

“You heard a few pops, and I freaked out and ran away. ... I started sprinting. I just had that intuition. I sprinted as quickly as I could," Moran said. He said he heard shooting off and on for about five minutes.

“Everyone just dropped all their possessions and everything and were running and people were crying and it was just horrible," Moran said.

The violence erupted at the end of a hot summer day when thousands had flocked to the beach.

“It was the most perfect day and then this happened,” said local resident Catherine Merchant.

“Everyone was just running and there were bullets and there were so many of them and we were really scared,” she told Australia’s ABC News.

Albanese told reporters in the Australian capital, Canberra, that he was “devastated” by the massacre.

“This is a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith. An act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation,” Albanese said.

“Amidst this vile act of violence and hate will emerge a moment of national unity where Australians across the board will embrace their fellow Australians of Jewish faith,” he said.

World leaders expressed condolences. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the “ghastly terrorist attack” and offered his condolences to the families who lost their loved ones.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was being updated on the “appalling attack.” Police in London said they would step up security at Jewish sites.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X that “The United States strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Australia targeting a Jewish celebration. Antisemitism has no place in this world.”

Australia, a country of 28 million people, is home to about 117,000 Jews, according to official figures. Antisemitic incidents, including assaults, vandalism, threats and intimidation, surged more than threefold in the country during the year after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel launched a war on Hamas in Gaza in response, the government's Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal reported in July.

Throughout last summer, the country was rocked by spate of antisemitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne. Synagogues and cars were torched, businesses and homes graffitied and Jews attacked in those cities, where 85% of the nation’s Jewish population live.

Albanese in August blamed Iran for two of the attacks and cut diplomatic ties to Tehran. The authorities didn't make such claims about Sunday's massacre.

Israel urged Australia's government to address crimes targeting Jews.

“The heart of the entire nation of Israel misses a beat at this very moment,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said. “We repeat our alerts time and time again to the Australian government to seek action and fight against the enormous wave of antisemitism which is plaguing Australian society.”

Mass shootings in Australia are extremely rare. A 1996 massacre in the Tasmanian town of Port Arthur, where a lone gunman killed 35 people, prompted the government to drastically tighten gun laws and made it much more difficult for Australians to acquire firearms.

Significant mass shootings this century included two murder-suicides with death tolls of five people in 2014, and seven in 2018, in which gunmen killed their own families and themselves.

In 2022, six people were killed in a shootout between police and Christian extremists at a rural property in Queensland state.

McGuirk reported from Melbourne, Australia, and Graham-McLay from Wellington, New Zealand. Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.

A small Christmas tree is at the center of an abandoned holiday picnic at Bondi Beach after a reported shooting in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Bystanders stay where police cordon off an area at Bondi Beach after a reported shooting in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after a reported shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Emergency workers standby at Bondi Beach after a reported shooting in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after a reported shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after a reported shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after a reported shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after a reported shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after a reported shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Emergency workers transport a person on a stretcher after a reported shooting at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)