Curry ices his right thumb after Warriors struggle across the board and lose to Rockets in Game 5

HOUSTON (AP) — The Golden State Warriors struggled on both ends of the court Wednesday night to squander a chance to close out their first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets.

Things got away from them quickly in the 131-116 loss in Game 5. Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and the rest of Golden State’s starters spent most of the second half watching from the bench after coach Steve Kerr inserted his reserves with about five minutes left in the third quarter and Houston up by 29.

Kerr shouldered the blame for the poor performance that allowed Houston to move the best-of-seven series to 3-2.

“I didn’t have them ready to play, clearly,” he said. “We committed three fouls in the first two minutes of the game and I think they were 13 for 13 from the line after the first quarter.

“We can’t come out with that lack of defensive focus and energy and expect to beat a great team on their home floor in a close-out game,” he continued. “They took it to us, they were awesome tonight and we’ve got to be better.”

He said Houston’s success on offense early made it difficult for Golden State to get anything going.

“We were out of sorts from the beginning, especially defensively, and I think that carried over to our offense,” he said. “It’s hard to play offensively when you’re taking the ball out of the net every single play.”

It was clear to Kerr at halftime that this was not going to be the Warriors' night.

“I think at halftime, their effective field goal percentage was 95%,” he said. “I’ve never seen that in my life. You’re not winning that game.”

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.

Curry had his right thumb wrapped during the game and had a bag of ice taped on it afterward. It appeared to be swollen in a picture circulating online of him walking to the team plane.

Asked about the state of his thumb, he answered with one word.

“Cold,” he said.

When pressed, he provided a few more details.

“I don’t even know how to answer it,” he said. “Something you are dealing with and keep it moving as long as I can play. I’ve got it wrapped for a reason.”

He was emphatic when asked if it was impacting his game.

“No,” he said. “None. No.”

Houston’s Dillon Brooks was asked about the Golden State broadcast team suggesting that he’s targeting Curry’s thumb by swiping at it.

“If I had an injured ankle, I would attack that ankle every single time,” he said. “So, whatever they’re saying on the broadcast, they can keep saying it.”

Kerr praised his backups for bringing an energy the team will need to rediscover in Game 6, which is Friday night in San Francisco.

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.

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

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Warriors head coach Steve Kerr instructs his players in Game 5 of the First Round of the NBA Playoffs against Houston Rockets at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Dillon Brooks (9) goes up to defend against a 3-point shot by Stephen Curry (30) in the first 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)

Jimmy Butler (10) passes to a teammate from under the basket in the first 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)

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)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Ahn Sung-ki, one of South Korean cinema’s biggest stars whose prolific 60-year career and positive, gentle public image earned him the nickname “The Nation’s Actor,” died Monday. He was 74.

Ahn, who had suffered blood cancer for years, was pronounced dead at Seoul's Soonchunhyang University Hospital, his agency, the Artist Company, and hospital officials said.

“We feel deep sorrow at the sudden, sad news, pray for the eternal rest of the deceased and offer our heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family members," the Artist Company said in a statement.

President Lee Jae Myung issued a condolence message saying Ahn provided many people with comfort, joy and time for reflection. “I already miss his warm smile and gentle voice,” Lee wrote on Facebook.

Born to a filmmaker in the southeastern city of Daegu in 1952, Ahn made his debut as a child actor in the movie “The Twilight Train” in 1957. He subsequently appeared in about 70 movies as a child actor before he left the film industry to live an ordinary life.

In 1970, Ahn entered Seoul’s Hankuk University of Foreign Studies as a Vietnamese major. Ahn said he graduated with top honors but failed to land jobs at big companies, who likely saw his Vietnamese major largely useless after a communist victory in the Vietnam War in 1975.

Ahn returned to the film industry in 1977 believing he could still excel in acting. In 1980, he rose to fame for his lead role in Lee Jang-ho’s “Good, Windy Days,” a hit coming-of-age movie about the struggle of working-class men from rural areas during the country’s rapid rise. Ahn won the best new actor award in the prestigious Grand Bell Awards, the Korean version of the Academy Awards.

He later starred in a series of highly successful and critically acclaimed movies, sweeping best actor awards and becoming arguably the country’s most popular actor in much of the 1980-90s.

Some of his memorable roles included a Buddhist monk in 1981’s “Mandara,” a beggar in 1984’s “Whale Hunting,” a Vietnam War veteran-turned-novelist in 1992’s “White Badge,” a corrupt police officer in 1993’s “Two Cops,” a murderer in 1999’s “No Where To Hide,” a special forces trainer in 2003’s “Silmido” and a devoted celebrity manager in 2006’s “Radio Star.”

Ahn had collected dozens of trophies in major movie awards in South Korea, including winning the Grand Bell Awards for best actor five times, an achievement no other South Korean actors have matched yet.

Ahn built up an image as a humble, trustworthy and family-oriented celebrity who avoided major scandals and maintained a quiet, stable personal life. Past public surveys chose Ahn as South Korea’s most beloved actor and deserving of the nickname “The Nation’s Actor.”

Ahn said he earlier felt confined with his “The Nation's Actor” labeling but eventually thought that led him down the right path. In recent years, local media has given other stars similar honorable nicknames, but Ahn was apparently the first South Korean actor who was dubbed “The Nation's Actor.”

“I felt I should do something that could match that title. But I think that has eventually guided me on a good direction,” Ahn said in an interview with Yonhap news agency in 2023.

In media interviews, Ahn couldn’t choose what his favorite movie was, but said that his role as a dedicated, hardworking manger for a washed-up rock singer played by Park Jung-hoon resembled himself in real life the most.

Ahn was also known for his reluctance to do love scenes. He said said he was too shy to act romantic scenes and sometimes asked directors to skip steamy scenes if they were only meant to add spice to movies.

“I don’t do well on acting like looking at someone who I don’t love with loving eyes and kissing really romantically. I feel shy and can’t express such emotions well,” Ahn said in an interview with the Shindonga magazine in 2007. “Simply, I’m clumsy on that. So I couldn’t star in such movies a lot. But ultimately, that was a right choice for me.”

Ahn is survived by his wife and their two sons. A mourning station at a Seoul hospital was to run until Friday.

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki smiles for a photo on the red carpet at the 56th Daejong Film Awards ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, June 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki attends an event as part of the 11th Pusan International Film Festival in Busan, South Korea, Oct. 13, 2006. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)