Fred VanVleet and the Rockets force a deciding Game 7 by beating the Warriors 115-107 in Game 6

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry had just produced one of his fantastic flurries to get Golden State right back in the game when Fred VanVleet started the fourth quarter with a four-point play that stole the momentum right back.

VanVleet had 29 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, Alperen Sengun contributed 21 points and 14 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets kept their season alive by beating the Golden State Warriors 115-107 on Friday night and forcing a deciding Game 7 in their first-round playoff series.

Golden State went cold when it mattered most: The Warriors missed 13 straight shots between Draymond Green's basket with 10:12 left and a 3-pointer by Curry at the 3:35 mark.

Now, everybody will get back on an airplane and head to Houston for Game 7 on Sunday for a chance to meet well-rested Minnesota in the Western Conference semifinals. That's exactly what the Warriors were hoping to avoid with a chance to clinch at home in Chase Center.

“I think we just know how important it is, they do too,” Warriors forward Jimmy Butler said.

Curry scored 29 points but shot 9 of 23, going 6 for 16 from deep. Butler added 27 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Houston coach Ime Udoka improved to 5-1 when facing elimination. Golden State's Steve Kerr, meanwhile, is 7-0 in first-round playoff series.

VanVleet converted the four-point play after the Warriors had pulled within two with Curry's flurry to end the third. Jalen Green scored the next time down on a putback of his own miss. Then, VanVleet's 3 from the top with 6:47 remaining put Houston up 101-89.

“We can’t give up a four-point play in a two-point game,” Draymond Green said.

Curry's driving layup with 39 seconds left in the third made it a four-point game, firing up the home crowd in bright yellow playoff shirts with matching rally towels. He then made two free throws as the Warriors pulled within 86-84.

But the Warriors couldn't keep it going. With a balanced effort on both ends — including 17 points and hustle plays by big man Steven Adams off the bench — Houston had an answer nearly every time Golden State threatened or made a big play.

The Warriors led 3-1 in the series but fell behind in a hurry in a 131-116 Game 5 loss Wednesday night as Houston’s offense rolled after averaging 98 points through the first four games of the series.

VanVleet was brilliant again. He shot 7 for 13 from the floor after consecutive games going 8 for 13, and he converted all nine of his free throws — he's a perfect 22 of 22 at the line over the series. And from 3-point range the past three games, he's 18 for 27.

That's why Kerr went to defensive specialist Gary Payton II in the starting lineup in place of Brandin Podziemski.

Draymond Green picked up an offensive foul at the 8:53 mark of the first quarter for shoving Jalen Green. The play went to review and the foul was determined to be a flagrant-1. But after two straight games with dustups, both teams stayed poised.

“It was a mantra going into the series: Play through everything,” Udoka said. “It’s going to be a physical game. Don’t ask for anything. We want to be physical. So if the refs allow it or that’s how the style of game is played, that favors us more often than not.”

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

Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry is fouled by Houston Rockets' Dillon Brooks before making a basket in second quarter of Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in San Francisco. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler III head to the bench in fourth quarter of Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in San Francisco. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet (5) is hugged by center Alperen Sengun after the team's victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) and Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason, right, compete for possession of the ball during the first half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, center, loses possession of the ball during the first half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets, Friday, May 2, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) shoots a 3-point basket over Houston Rockets forward Amen Thompson (1) during the first half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III (10) celebrates with Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) after scoring during the first half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets, Friday, May 2, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III (10) passes the ball between Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun, left, and forward Amen Thompson during the first half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry looks to the Houston Rockets bench during the first half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) shoots a 3-point basket over Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green (4) during the first half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry moves the ball during the first half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets, Friday, May 2, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II (0) shoots a 3-point basket over Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) during the first half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, left, takes the ball away from Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks during the first half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, left, takes the ball away from Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks during the first half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Golden State Warriors' Moses Moody, second from left, and Quinten Post, right, defend against Houston Rockets' Fred VanVleet (5) in the second quarter of Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in San Francisco. A foul was called on the Warriors on the play. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

On his three-point attempt, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) is fouled by Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason (17) in the third quarter of Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, May 2, 2025, in San Francisco. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

SYDNEY (AP) — Two gunmen opened fire during a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney's Bondi beach, killing 15 people, including a child, officials said Monday, in what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called an act of antisemitic terrorism that struck at the heart of the nation.

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

One gunman, a 50-year-old man, was fatally shot by police. The other shooter, his 24-year-old son, was wounded and was being treated at a hospital, said Mal Lanyon, New South Wales police commissioner.

Police said one gunman was known to security services, but Lanyon said authorities had no indication of a planned attack.

Those killed were aged between 10- and 87-years-old, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns told reporters. At least 38 others were injured in the attack.

“What we saw yesterday was an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism, an act of terrorism on our shores in an iconic Australian location, Bondi Beach, that is associated with joy, associated with families gathering, associated with celebrations,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday.

“It is forever tarnished by what has occurred.”

Police pledged a “thorough” investigation, Lanyon said. Authorities were not looking for anyone else in connection with the massacre.

The violence erupted at the end of a summer day when thousands had flocked to Bondi Beach, including hundreds gathered for the Chanukah by the Sea event celebrating the start of the eight-day Hanukkah festival.

Chabad, an Orthodox Jewish movement that runs outreach worldwide and sponsors events during major Jewish holidays, identified one of the dead as Rabbi Eli Schlanger, assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi and an organizer of the event.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the death of an Israeli citizen, but gave no further details.

Police said emergency services were called at about 6:45 p.m., responding to reports of shots being fired. Video by onlookers showed people in bathing suits running from the water as shots rang out. Separate footage showed two men in black shirts firing with long guns from a footbridge leading to the beach.

One dramatic clip broadcast on Australian television showed a man appearing to tackle and disarm one gunman, before pointing the man’s weapon at him, then setting the gun on the ground.

Minns called the man, identified by relatives to Australian media as fruit shop owner Ahmed al Ahmed, a “genuine hero.”

Arsen Ostrovsky, a lawyer attending the Hanukkah ceremony with his wife and daughters, was grazed in the head by a bullet. Ostrovsky said he moved from Israel to Australia two weeks ago to work for a Jewish advocacy group.

“What I saw today was pure evil, just an absolute bloodbath. Bodies strewn everywhere,” he told The Associated Press in an email from the hospital. "I never thought would be possible here in Australia."

Lachlan Moran, 32, from Melbourne, told the AP he was waiting for his family when he heard shots.

"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."

Albanese vowed the violence would be met with “a moment of national unity where Australians across the board will embrace their fellow Australians of Jewish faith.”

King Charles III said he and Queen Camilla were “appalled and saddened by the most dreadful antisemitic terrorist attack.” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on X he was horrified, and his “heart is with the Jewish community worldwide.”

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

Police in cities around the world, including London, said they would step up security at Jewish sites.

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.

Last year, the country was rocked by 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 lives.

Albanese in August blamed Iran for two of the attacks and cut diplomatic ties to Tehran.

Pastor Matt Graham, who was conducting a service at Bondi Anglican Church when panicked people began entering for shelter, said antisemitism has been brewing in Sydney’s eastern suburbs including Bondi, where the Jewish community is centered.

“I’m surrounded by antisemitic graffiti constantly,” Graham told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. "As a Christian, I just want to declare I stand with the people of Israel.”

Israel urged Australia's government to address crimes targeting Jews. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he warned Australia’s leaders months ago about the dangers of failing to take action against antisemitism. He claimed Australia's decision — in line with scores of other countries — to recognize a Palestinian state “pours fuel on the antisemitic fire.”

“Your government did nothing to stop the spread of antisemitism in Australia ... and the result is the horrific attacks on Jews we saw today,” Netanyahu said.

His office released safety recommendations Monday for Israelis traveling abroad, including avoiding large gatherings that don’t have security, especially events at synagogues and Hanukkah gatherings. It also called for heightened awareness at Jewish and Israeli sites.

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, making it much more difficult 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 writers Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Mustakim Hasnath in London contributed to this report.

Police patrol in the early morning following a shooting Sunday at Sydney's Bondi Beach, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

A motorcycle lies on the ground in the early morning near the site of a shooting Sunday at Sydney's Bondi Beach, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

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)