UPDATE 9:10 PM — (KRON/AP) The Golden State Warriors advance to the NBA Finals. This will be the team’s first championship series since 1975.

The Warriors closed out their Western Conference Series against the Houston Rockets in front their fans Wednesday night with a Game 5 victory, 104-90.

Stephen Curry had 26 points and eight rebounds, Harrison Barnes added 24 points and the Warriors advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in 40 years with a 104-90 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

“Why not us?” Curry said to a roaring, golden-yellow shirt wearing crowd after the Warriors received the Western Conference trophy from Alvin Attles, the coach of their last championship team in 1975.

The Warriors shook off a slow start and sweated out a shaky finish in Game 5 to close out the Rockets and set up a matchup with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers beginning June 4. It was hardly the prettiest performance – but one they’ll savor nonetheless.

Yellow streams and confetti fell from the rafters when the final buzzer sounded. The Warriors shared hugs and handshakes, and the crowd chanted “M-V-P!” for Curry, who relished the moment on the court with his 2-year-old daughter, Riley.

“We deserve to celebrate tonight but we’ve still got unfinished business and it’s a long time coming for the Bay Area,” Warriors All-Star guard Klay Thompson said.

Houston took control of the game early jumping out to a 22-17 lead after the 1st quarter. But Golden State roared back with 35 points in the 2nd quarter to end the half with a 52-46 lead.

The start of the second half was quiet for both sides as the teams struggled to get any offense going.

Holding on to a slim 6-point lead, the Warriors started to put the game out of reach at about the 10-minute mark when forward Harrison Barnes dropped 9 consecutive points for the Warriors to help give his team a 15-point lead.

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UPDATE 8:10 PM — The Warriors and Rockets finished a close third quarter with each team scoring 22 points.

Steph Curry and Klay Thompson splashed a pair of 3-pointers to match Jason Terry’s two 3-pointers in the quarter.

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UPDATE 7:26 PM — The Warriors are holding on to slight lead in the 1st half after rallying from down 22-17 in the first quarter.

The Houston Rockets took control on both sides of early in the game until the Splash Bros., Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, started to get hot in the 2nd quarter to help the Warriors outscore the Rockets 35-24.

Curry (14 pts, 2 three-pointers), Thompson (15 pts, 3 three-pointers) and Harrison Barnes (11 pts) lead the Dubs offense in scoring.

Rockets center Dwight Howard (12 pts) and guard James Harden (11 pts) lead their team in scoring.

The Warriors are winning the boards with 33 total rebounds, the Rockets have only 18.

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OAKLAND (KRON) — The Golden State Warriors return to The Oracle Arena for Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals on Wednesday night looking to clinch a spot in the NBA Finals.

The Warriors up 3-1 in series will have NBA MVP Stephen Curry in the starting up lineup following a horrific fall Monday night that left him with a head contusion. Curry says he may wear a protective sleeve on his right arm and that he has a bruise along the right side of his body as a result from his frightening spill in Tuesday’s game 4. Despite that, he says he is “feeling great” and expects to get his normal minutes.

“I feel real coherent and ready to go,” Curry said. “Excited for the opportunity we have tonight to finish this out. I’ll be ready to go and play my usual minutes and do what I need to do to help my team win. I expect to be impactful tonight.”

If the Warriors beat the Rockets on Wednesday, they would win the series 4 games to 1 and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1975.

The KRON 4 team will be live from Oracle before, during and after the big with updates, photos, and post game interviews.NOTES

(AP) Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard will not be suspended for Game 5 of the Western Conference finals against the Golden State Warriors after the NBA decided to uphold his flagrant 1 foul.

NBA President of Basketball Operations Rod Thorn said in a statement Tuesday night that Howard was trying to free himself from Andrew Bogut when Howard “recklessly hit him in the face with an open hand.” Thorn said the contact was deemed unnecessary by game officials, who were aided by replay review, and the league doesn’t “see a reason to modify that call.”