In a must-win Game 6 with their season on the line, the Golden State Warriors managed to stave off elimination with a thumping 115-86 win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.Those inside the Oracle Arena must've feared the worst as the defending champions trailed by as much as 17 in the first half and went into the half-time break with a 10-point deficit.The pressure seemed to be getting to the Warriors as they made a slow start but that all changed in the second half as they went on an incredible surge to even the Western Conference Finals at 3-3.They outscored Houston 64-25 in the final two quarters and this was inspired by one man in particular; Klay Thompson.When the Warriors needed somebody to step up, the shooting guard answered the call as he erupted for 35 points on 13-of-23 shooting and an incredible 9-of-14 from three-point range.

Big game player

It was a sense of deja vu for Thompson and the Dubs as it's not the first time he's produced heroics in a Game 6 where they were facing elimination.

In 2016, Golden State was down 3-2 against the Oklahoma City Thunder and needed to win on the road to keep their season alive.

Klay produced an offensive explosion as he posted 41 points and hit 11 three-pointers. The Oakland-based franchise went on to win Game 7 and make it to the Finals.

The 28-year-old certainly has a habit of showing up and delivering when it matters most.

"I don't know if I was born for it, but I definitely worked my butt off to get to this point. I mean, I guess you could say I was born for it," Thompson said after the game, per ESPN's Chris Haynes.

"I guess everything happens for a reason. That felt good, to be honest. I just wanted to play with as much passion as I could tonight. Probably sounded more vocal than I usually am.

"When your back's against the wall, if your shot's not falling, you can always control your passion and how hard you play. Usually when I do that, it trickles over to other aspects of my game."

The four-time All-Star also added six rebounds and a playoff-high four steals as he broke out of a mini slump in the series in style.

"The guy's a machine," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "He's just so fit physically. He seems to thrive in these situations. But he was fantastic."

Thompson's performance has allowed the Warriors to force a Game 7 as their hopes of appearing in the NBA Finals for a fourth straight year are still alive.

But they'll have a difficult task as Houston will have home-court advantage and are determined to knock off the champs.

There's no better way to end this exhilarating series and we're surely in for a classic encounter on Monday night.

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