Humiliation averted, Buddy Hield paid in full, euphoria in the streets of Dub Nation.

To the rich and ever-expanding book of Warriors NBA playoff lore, add another chapter: Game 7 Buddy.

An offseason signing that impressed few around the NBA, Hield needed only one incredible playoff game to earn his keep. His Game 7 performance in Golden State’s 103-89 win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday should count as two.

BUDDY IS FEELING IT 🏇 pic.twitter.com/yMVOVXOOAL

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 5, 2025

Hield was magnificent on offense, his specialty, with a game-high 33 points, including nine triples. He also was highly effective on defense, where his reputation is less than sterling, playing in significant role in the Warriors limiting the Rockets to 40.5-percent shooting from the field, including 33.3 percent from deep.

“The 33 points were great,” Draymond Green told reporters at Toyota Center. “Nine threes? Incredible. But what he did on the defensive end was even more impressive. He took on every matchup that he had whether it was Jalen [Green] or Fred [VanVleet] all over, hawking the ballhandler. He ended up with Şengün on the post, made him force a miss, knocked the ball out we was able to come up with the loose ball.

“He made winning plays all night.”

Green said he sensed Hield, who was scoreless in a Game 6 loss, was prepped to play a significant role in Game 7.

“I told Draymond I planned a big game tonight,” Hield said. “Just locked in, trying to find my joy. I’ve never been in this situation before, and I was just trying to seize the moment, that was the moment, and just be in the moment at the same time. And enjoy the moment.”

This was a team triumph, to be sure, with superb performances from the accomplished core of Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler III and Green ensuring Golden State’s ouster of the Rockets to advance to the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

That core, however, followed Hield’s lead. Even Butler, who leads the pack of those routinely making Buddy a lighthearted punchline, had to admit as much.

“Buddy was huge,” Butler said semi-grudgingly. “We know the type of basketball player that he is, and he’s a tough cover for sure whenever he’s making shots. But he made so many right plays on the defensive side of the ball, getting the ball where it needed to go. Buddy was really, really, really big for us tonight.”

Hield’s defense was stellar, but it was his offense that set the tone. He quickly lit a fire under his teammates in the first quarter – punctuating it with a 42-foot buzzer-beater – that the Rockets simply not extinguish over the next three. The Warriors led by as much as much as 20 points.

“Buddy Hield, I don’t know what to say,” said coach Steve Kerr, who said he never considered benching Hield after Game 6. “That was really incredible watching him light it up in that first half, especially, and then down the stretch as well.”

Hield had 22 of Golden State’s 51 first-half points before turning the offense over to Curry and Butler, who combined for 31 of the team’s 52 points in the second half.

Hield’s 33 points are the most by any player following a scoreless postseason game. He shot 12 of 15 from the field, including an astonishing 9 of 11 from beyond the arc. His nine 3-pointers tied Donte DiVincenzo for most triples ever in a Game 7.

This was, for Buddy, an exceedingly loud response to his Game 6 doughnut.

“Next game mentality,” Hield said on NBC Sports Bay Area’s “Warriors Postgame Live.” “Can’t dwell on what happened last game. Yes, we lost. Flip the script, flip the page, next game. That’s the mentality I got to have. That’s the mentality you’ve got to keep every time.

“You can’t let in the outside noise. I stayed off my phone. I didn’t even talk to my family as much. My family wanted to come to the game, I told them no. I wanted to lock in and prepare for this.”

The Warriors had taken a 3-1 series lead before desultory performances in Games 5 and 6 forced them into a Game 7 on the road. Considering the veterans remain salty about blowing a 3-1 lead in the 2016 NBA Finals, repeating such an inglorious feat would have done cruel things to their souls.

Green was terrific: 16 points, six rebounds, five assists and two blocks, finishing a team-best plus-18 over 40 minutes. Curry was wonderful: 22 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds, two steals and finishing plus-16 over 46 minutes. Butler played 45 minutes, delivering 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, finishing plus-10.

But this was Hield’s night.

Signed last July to provide bench scoring and 10 months later, in a time of urgent need, he starts a Game 7 and shoots his way into Golden State’s book of unforgettable postseason performances.

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