Stephen Curry and Buddy Hield lead Warriors past Rockets 103-89 in Game 7

HOUSTON (AP) — Buddy Hield became an unlikely playoff hero for the Golden State Warriors, leading the team early in Game 7 against the Houston Rockets before Stephen Curry took over late.

Curry scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, Hield made nine 3-pointers and scored 33 points, and the Warriors advanced to the Western Conference semifinals with a 103-89 win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.

“We were lucky to get out of this series,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. "That was an incredibly impressive display of resolve.”

The Warriors will face the Timberwolves Tuesday night in Minnesota.

After not scoring in Game 6, Hield had a scorching first half with six 3-pointers and 22 points to carry the Warriors to a 12-point lead, with Curry scoring just three points before the break. Then Curry took over in the closing minutes and performed his signature “night night” gesture as the Warriors put the Rockets away.

“This was not just a lights-out shooting performance for Buddy,” Kerr said. “It was a two-way performance. I thought his defense was fantastic.”

The Warriors became the seventh No. 7 seed in NBA history to advance to the semifinals and eliminated Houston in the playoffs for a fifth time. They sent the James Harden-led Rockets packing four times between 2015 and 2019.

None of the players from those teams remain with Houston, leading Fred VanVleet to say before the series that “this ain't that team.”

Draymond Green, who helped beat the Rockets in Game 7 in 2018 to advance to the NBA Finals, mentioned VanVleet's quote before continuing.

“It’s that organization though,” he said. “We like coming to the city playing in these situations. It's been good to us.”

Hield was 9 of 11 from 3-point range, setting an NBA record for a Game 7 and making more 3s than the Rockets, who were 6 of 18 from long range.

“Just trying to seize the moment and relish the moment and just be in the moment at the same time,” Hield said. “Just trying to be myself. But tonight was fun.”

Curry added 10 rebounds and seven assists.

Amen Thompson scored 24 points to lead Houston, which forced Game 7 with two straight wins but couldn't put away the experienced Warriors.

“We had our chances in this series,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “We all expected to continue to be playing, so it’s a letdown. It’s going to sting now, but use it as motivation and let’s all come back better.”

Golden State led by eight entering the fourth and opened the quarter with a 5-0 run, capped by a 3 from Curry, to make it 75-62.

Houston scored the next six points, but the Warriors used a 7-2 spurt with four points from Curry to make it 82-70 with about seven minutes left.

Curry made a contested 3, rebounded a missed jumper by Thompson and found Hield for an open corner 3 that made it 94-74 with 2:31 remaining.

That sent many of the red-clad Rockets fans streaming for the exits.

Jimmy Butler added 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Warriors, who improved to 28-11 since his debut on Feb. 8 after a trade from Miami.

VanVleet scored a combined 55 points in the last two games to help Houston extend the series. But he was limited to 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting Sunday to send the second-seeded Rockets home early in their first trip to the playoffs since 2020.

He was far from the only Rocket who struggled. Big man Alperen Sengun had 21 points and 14 rebounds. But he missed several easy shots on a 9-of-23 night.

Jalen Green, who had 38 points to lead Houston to a Game 2 win, finished with eight points.

“First playoffs is no excuse,” he said. “I’ve got to be better.”

The Warriors played without key reserve Gary Payton II, who sat out with an illness that coach Steve Kerr said had him “sick as a dog.”

Draymond Green added 16 points for the Warriors, who had four starters score in double figures.

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Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) and Draymond Green (23) celebrate after Game 7 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Houston Rockets' Alperen Sengun (28) goes up for a shot as Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green (23) defends during the second half of Game 7 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Golden State Warriors players react to Buddy Hield's (7) first quarter buzzer-beater against the Houston Rockets in Game 7 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series in Houston, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) celebrates after Game 7 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Golden State Warriors' Buddy Hield (7) shoots a three-pointer as Houston Rockets' Dillon Brooks (9) defends during the first half of Game 7 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Golden State Warriors' Buddy Hield (7) reacts after making a three-pointer as Houston Rockets' Dillon Brooks (9) reacts during the first half of Game 7 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) goes up for a shot as Houston Rockets' Jabari Smith Jr. rear, defends during the second half of Game 7 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Houston Rockets' Dillon Brooks (9) defends against Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) during the second half of Game 7 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) and Draymond Green celebrate after Game 7 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A Virginia man who had a relationship with a Brazilian au pair is going to trial Monday in what prosecutors say was an elaborate double-murder scheme to frame another man in the stabbing of his wife.

Brendan Banfield is charged with aggravated murder in the February 2023 killings of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan at the Banfields' home in northern Virginia. He has pleaded not guilty in the case.

Banfield and Juliana Peres Magalhães, the family’s au pair, were with the wife and Ryan on the morning the victims were killed in the primary bedroom of the Banfield home, court records say. Authorities have said on that day, Banfield and Magalhães told officials they saw Ryan, a stranger, stabbing the wife after he entered the house. Then they each shot the intruder, Banfield and Magalhães said at the time.

Prosecutors have painted a different picture, arguing that Brendan Banfield and Magalhães lured Ryan to the house and staged it to look like he and the au pair shot a predator in defense. Officials have said Banfield and Magalhães had a romantic affair beginning the year before the killings.

Both the au pair and husband were arrested between 2023 and 2024 and initially handed murder charges in the case. In 2024, Magalhães pleaded guilty to a downgraded manslaughter charge after giving a statement to officials confirming parts of their theory.

In that statement, Magalhães said she and Brendan Banfield created an account in his wife’s name on a social media platform for people interested in sexual fetishes. There, Ryan connected with the account in Christine Banfield’s name, and the users made plans to meet on the morning of Feb. 24, 2023, for a sexual encounter that would involve a knife, authorities said based on the statement from Magalhães.

Prosecutor Eric Clingan said last year that the au pair's statement helped the state solidify its theory ahead of trial.

“With 12 different homicide detectives, there were 24 different theories,” Clingan said. “Now, one theory.”

Not all officials investigating the case have believed Banfield and Magalhães catfished Ryan.

Brendan Miller, a former digital forensic examiner with the Fairfax County Police Department, testified last year that he analyzed dozens of devices and concluded Christine Banfield had connected with Ryan herself through the social networking platform.

An evidence analysis team at the University of Alabama peer-reviewed and affirmed Miller’s digital forensic findings, according to evidence submitted to the court.

Miller was transferred out of the department’s digital forensics unit in late 2024, though a former Fairfax County commander testified the reassignment was not punitive or disciplinary.

John Carroll, Banfield's attorney, argued that Millers' transfer was directly tethered to the case. He also said in court that Fairfax County police reassigned the case’s lead detective after that man had pushed back on the top brass’ catfishing theory.

“It is a theory in search of facts rather than a series of facts supporting a theory,” Carroll said.

Banfield, whose daughter was at the house on the morning of the killings, is also charged with child abuse and felony child cruelty in connection with the case. He will also face those charges during the aggravated murder trial.

FILE - This image provided by the Fairfax County Police Department and taken on Oct. 13, 2023, was submitted as evidence in the murder case against Brendan Banfield shows a framed photo of Banfield and Juliana Peres Magalhães on his bedside table in Herndon, Va. (Fairfax County Police Department via AP, File)