Chris Paul Injury Update: Rockets' Guard In Good Spirits Before Game 6 Against Golden State Warriors

Thursday night’s 98-94 Game 5 win over the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals was almost a bittersweet one for the Houston Rockets. The team put themselves one victory away from reaching the NBA Finals and upsetting perhaps the greatest team assembled in league history, but it might have come at a costly price. Chris Paul limped off the court in the final minute with a hamstring injury, watching the Rockets close out the contest from the bench.

It was Houston’s second win in a row and it gave them a 3-2 series lead. They’ll return to Oracle Arena Saturday night for Game 6 with a chance to eliminate the once heavily favored Warriors. The biggest question surrounding the contest is now Paul’s availability.

“We'll see [if he can play Game 6]. He'll be evaluated tomorrow, but obviously you saw him limp off, and he's a tough guy,” Houston head coach Mike D'Antoni told reporters. “They'll do whatever they can do. If he's there, great, good for him. If he isn't, we have enough guys; it's time for somebody else to step up.”

Paul might’ve been Houston’s most important player in Game 5. With James Harden shooting five-of-21 from the field and missing all 11 of his three-point attempts, the point guard scored 20 points and was the driving force of the Rockets’ offense in the third quarter. All but two of his points Thursday came in the second half.

Paul was even better in Game 4 with 27 points on 50 percent shooting. He’s made nine of his 18 three-point attempts in the last two games.

This isn’t the first injury that Paul has dealt with this series. The 33-year-old hurt his foot in Houston’s Game 2 win and admitted to being affected by the ailment in Game 3 when he scored 13 points on 16 shots.

Injuries have been a big part of Paul’s playoff career. The Los Angeles Clippers were eliminated from the first round in 2016 when Paul fractured his right hand. A hamstring injury forced him to miss the first two games of the second round against Houston in 2015.

In this year’s regular season, Paul sat out 24 total games. Three of those games can be attributed to a hamstring injury.

With Paul’s status unknown for Game 6, Houston is a heavy underdog at Oracle Arena. The Rockets will be hard-pressed to beat Golden State a fourth time if Paul can’t suit up again.

Game 7 would be played Monday night in Houston.