Warszawski: Warriors tough it out to snap 40-year NBA Finals drought

The Warriors needed 40 years to make it back to the NBA Finals.

So no one should’ve expected the final step to be easy.

It wasn’t.

Despite the relatively comfortable final score, 104-90 to clinch the best-of-seven Western Conference finals 4-1, Wednesday night was anything but smooth sailing for the Bay Area darlings.

Against a feisty, resilient Rockets team that had won four straight elimination games, the Warriors couldn’t rely on the pretty, splashy style that got them here.

Nope. They had to fight. They had to scrap. They had to throw elbows and bang knees, because that’s what the Rockets (specifically Dwight Howard and Trevor Ariza) were doing.

In the end, Game 5 at Oracle Arena had the aesthetics of a black eye. And, boy, that ice pack never felt so good.

“Winning feels like relief more than anything, most of the time, but to get to the Finals for the first time in 40 years is more joy than relief,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We’re feeling that joy.”

On a night when a banged-up Stephen Curry (7-of-21 shooting) lacked his usual sizzle, when Klay Thompson was in foul trouble and needed stitches, when Draymond Green (nine points) was uncharacteristically quiet, Harrison Barnes swooped in for the rescue.

Harrison Barnes? Yeah, him. And let’s not omit Festus Ezeli and Andre Iguodala.

Thompson was having a stellar shooting night until he picked up his fourth and fifth fouls, in quick succession, early in the third quarter.

After a lengthy stint on the bench, Thompson returned 16 seconds into the fourth — only to get kneed in the right ear by Ariza.

With a woozy, bleeding Thompson out of commission and the Rockets focusing their defense on Curry, the Warriors needed offense from someone else to protect their eight-point lead.

That someone turned out to be Barnes, who scored seven straight points immediately following Thompson’s exit and 13 of his game-high 24 in the fourth quarter.

In a span of 1 minute, 7 seconds, Barnes drained a 17-foot pull-up, swished a 23-foot 3-pointer and hit a running hook from 6 feet after grabbing the rebound.

It was like Superman, minus the cape. “Harrison was brilliant,” Kerr said.

Ezeli, the backup center, scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds, most of them while battling Howard. And Iguodala hounded Rockets star James Harden into 13 turnovers (!) and 2-of-11 shooting.

“Andre Iguodala might have had the greatest six-point game ever,” Kerr said.

Following a raucous postgame celebration on the court, the Warriors’ locker room was fairly subdued. No champagne. No wild celebrations. Just a bunch of guys ready for the next — and most important — step.

“Four more to go,” reserve guard Shaun Livingston said.

“Enjoying the moment, but we’re not finished yet,” Green added.

Suddenly, it’s a wonderful thing for the Warriors the NBA Finals don’t start until June 4.

Thompson started feeling woozy after the game and showed concussion-like symptoms, according to a team press release; he’ll require further evaluation and observation. Curry needs time for his bruises to heal following his scary fall in Game 4.

All of a sudden, the Splash Brothers are becoming the M*A*S*H Brothers.

“It’s going to be a battle,” Curry said of what’s to come. “It’s going to be fun. It’s what every player dreams about when you come into the league, playing for a championship.

“We’re four wins away from the ultimate goal, and we’re excited about it.”

A cavalcade of stars turned out to see the Greatest Show on Maple: Joe Montana. Kanye West. Jesse Jackson. Trent Dilfer. Detroit Tigers MVPs Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander, who reportedly paid $12,000 apiece for their courtside seats.

They didn’t get the masterpiece of shooting, passing and slashing they probably expected. This one was more like a 3-year-old’s finger painting.

The Warriors may be a jump-shooting team, but aren’t soft — no matter what Charles Barkley says. They won 67 regular-season games in large part due to their defense.

But the Rockets, with their length, athleticism and physical play, helped bring out the rugged, bruising side the Warriors will need to cope with LeBron James and his Bay Bridge-wide shoulders.

It should be quite a series, the one most NBA fans have pined for since Christmas.

“It hasn’t hit me yet,” Ezeli said at his locker. “I can’t believe we’re in the Finals, but we’re not done yet. I’m ready to play some more.”

This story was originally published May 27, 2015 at 11:15 PM with the headline "Warszawski: Warriors tough it out to snap 40-year NBA Finals drought."