Houston Rockets point guard Chris Paul will miss Saturday’s Game 6 of the Western Conference finals at Golden State with a right hamstring strain, the team announced Friday.
Paul will be re-evaluated after the team returns to Houston.
Paul exited Houston’s 98-94 Game 5 win on Thursday in the final minute and received extensive postgame treatment, leaving the Toyota Center around midnight.
Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said Eric Gordon will start in Paul’s place.
“It will not change anything we do and how we do it,” D’Antoni said.
A 13-year veteran who is one win away from his first NBA Finals appearance, Paul reached for his hamstring after missing a runner in the lane with 51.7 seconds left. He limped noticeably during the next two possessions and checked out of the game after briefly consulting with Rockets athletic trainer Keith Jones during a timeout with 22.4 seconds remaining.
Paul scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half to help Houston take a 3-2 series lead. He also had seven rebounds, six assists and three steals.
He has been dealing with soreness in his right foot since late in Game 2. He said the soreness diminished significantly between Games 3 and 4.
Paul has been sidelined by a hamstring injury on four occasions during his career, according to ESPN Stats & Information. His shortest absence due to a hamstring injury was two games during the 2015 West semifinals against the Rockets, when he played for the LA Clippers. Hamstring injuries sidelined Paul for five games in January 2012, seven games in December 2016 and January 2017, and three games in March this season.
The Rockets managed to go 15-6 this season in games Paul missed when they had MVP front-runner James Harden and blossoming center Clint Capela available. Houston has outscored the Warriors by 11 points in 47 minutes during the West finals with Harden on the floor and Paul resting.
Information from ESPN’s Tim MacMahon was used in this report.
Source:ESPN
