The Houston Rockets have taken a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference Finals after securing a 98-94 victory in a wild encounter at the Toyota Center on Thursday night. They are now just one win away from a place in the NBA Finals and ending their opponents' three-year streak. Houston somehow managed to overcome a tough offensive night to claim the win as the Warriors were also far from their best on that end of the floor. The Rockets also managed to come out on top despite their superstar James Harden having a horrible night offensively. The MVP favourite ended the game with 19 points on 5-of-21 shooting from the field and 0-of-11 from three-point range. 

He was grateful that Chris Paul (20 points, seven rebounds, six assists) and Eric Gordon (24 points) picked up the slack. 

They were terrific defensively largely thanks to the efforts of Clint Capela - who finished with a double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds along with two blocks -  and P.J. Tucker.

As a team, the Rockets had a poor shooting night from beyond the arc as they went 13-of-43 and missed many wide open looks that could've put them in control, particularly in the first half.

They defended extremely well for the second straight game but struggled to take advantage of Golden State's lacklustre start. 

This allowed the defending champions to somehow go into the half-time break tied at 45 even though they'd played badly by their high standards in the opening 24 minutes. 

The game remained close throughout the second half and once again came down to final few possessions. 

Just like in Game 4, it was Houston who kept its poise down the stretch while the Warriors collapsed. 

Down 96-94, the Dubs had a chance to tie or take the lead with 6.7 seconds to go but Draymond Green turned the ball over after failing to gather a pass. 

It was their 16th turnover of the game and certainly their most costly as Gordon knocked down two free throws after being fouled to ice the game. 

Kevin Durant led the visitors in scoring with 29 points but shot an inefficient 8-of-22. Stephen Curry (22 points) and Klay Thompson (23 points) had strong offensive nights. 

Houston will now have a huge opportunity to become the first team from the west other than the Warriors to advance to the finals since 2014.

They openly declared that they had a team built to challenge and dethrone the Oakland-based outfit and they're now just one win away from fulfilling that mission. 

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