The Houston Rockets stayed alive against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night. The Rockets jumped out to a big lead and held on for a mostly comfortable Game 5 win, but the Warriors still lead the series,

James Harden had 28 points and eight assists in an outstanding bounce-back performance, Kawhi Leonard added 27 points and the Los Angeles Clippers forced a seventh game in their first-round NBA playof

The Warriors were so out of sorts that there were possessions when Curry and Butler were on the floor together and didn’t touch the ball before a shot was taken. Curry finished with 13 points on 4-for-12 shooting and Butler had eight and was 2-for-10 before Kerr pulled the plug in the third quarter with the Warriors hopelessly behind.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr speaks to reporters after Golden State's 131-116 Game 5 loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday at Toyota Center.Steve Kerr believes Warriors lacked ‘defensive focus' vs. Ro

While the loss was lopsided, Kerr’s message was clear: this series was never going to be easy, and the Warriors still control their destiny. Game 5 exposed some issues — Golde