Steve Kerr Feels 'Great' About Warriors Despite Rockets' Game 5 Win

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr still feels "great" about his side's position despite now trailing 3-2 in their Western Conference Finals series against the Houston Rockets.

With the series pegged at 2-2, both teams fought tooth and nail in a back-and-forth encounter Thursday night at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, with the visitors leading the game 72-71 after three quarters.

But while MVP front-runner James Harden had an off game with 19 points, it was Chris Paul who stepped up for the Rockets in the second half, scoring crucial points with 18 of his 20 on the night coming in the last two quarters as the home side eventually ran out 98-94 winners in Game 5.

The Warriors were notably trailing 96-94 in the final seconds with possession of the ball but Draymond Green would stumble and lose the ball in what was their 16th turnover of the night before they conceded another foul to all but seal their defeat.

It means Mike D'Antoni's men are now just one game away from making a first NBA Finals appearance since 1995 while the Warriors are trailing a series for the first time since being 3-1 behind in their Western Conference Finals series against the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016.

However, Kerr feels despite his side's many turnovers, they defended well on the night as he is not worried about where they are, heading into Saturday's Game 6 meeting at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.

"Chris [Paul] is a Hall of Fame player. This is what they do, they put James [Harden] and Chris in a pick and roll every single time," Kerr told reporters after the game. "So they're going to challenge you, we did a great job, they combined to shoot 11-for-40. He [Paul] hit two fadeaway thirty five foot threes that were just unbelieveable, you got to live with that. What we can't live with is reaching and jumping on Eric Gordon's pump fakes. Gordon shot 10 free throws, six of them on three point shots, we reached on James, Jame shot nine free throws, we got to be a little more disciplined."

"[But] I feel great about where we are right now, that may sound crazy but I feel it. I know exactly what I'm seeing out there and we defended them beautifully tonight, we got everything we needed, just too many turnovers, too many reaches and if we settle down a little bit, we'll be in really good shape," he said.

The Warriors might be boosted with the absence of Paul as his Game 5 heroics were dented by a hamstring injury that saw him exit the game in the final minute with D'Antoni later revealing he will be evaluated on Friday. Along with his 20 points, the 33-year-old also added seven rebounds and six assists.

"We'll see [if he can play Game 6 on Saturday]. He'll be evaluated tomorrow, but obviously you saw him limp off, and he's a tough guy," D'Antoni said, as per ESPN. "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. ... We'll be all right. We just have to continue what we're doing."