Chris Paul injury: Rockets guard out for Game 6 vs. Warriors

Rockets point guard Chris Paul will miss Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals against the Warriors with a strained hamstring, reports Yahoo! Sports. Houston, which holds a 3-2 lead in the series, will have to try to put away the defending champions without one of its best players.

Paul left in the final minute of the Rockets’ Game 5 victory after suffering a hamstring injury. He had been playing well before that, scoring 18 of his 20 points in the second half and even shimmying in front of the shimmy master himself, Stephen Curry.

There was hope that some rest would allow Paul to recover in time for Game 6, which is set for 8 p.m. Saturday night, but word is already getting out that he won’t make it.

The Rockets have leaned heavily on Paul and James Harden en route to being a win away from the NBA Finals. The vaunted backcourt duo, head coach Mike D’Antoni and a bevy of perfectly fitting role players have pushed the Warriors, once seemingly invulnerable, to the brink of elimination.

But putting away a team as good as Golden State won’t be easy, and now the Rockets will take their first crack at it on the road without CP3. If the Warriors force a Game 7, it will be held Monday night in Houston.

Paul has averaged 21.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.7 steals in 15 games this postseason. He’s shot 46 percent from the field and 37 percent from three. Without him, the pressure will be higher than ever on Harden, who has averaged 28.1 points per game in the playoffs but shot just 41 percent from the field and 31 percent from three.