HOUSTON — The Warriors could be down a starter for their most important game of the season.
Gary Payton II was listed as questionable with an illness before Sunday’s shootaround at Toyota Center. The Warriors are back in Houston for Game 7 after allowing a 3-1 series lead to slip away.
Payton, 32, started Game 6 but was minus-12 in 20 minutes while scoring just five points and struggling to keep up with Fred VanVleet. The Rockets won the game 115-107.
Payton averaged 6.5 points and 0.8 steals per game as the team’s top defensive guard during the regular season. He had a major impact during the Warriors’ Game 3 victory, scoring 16 points and taking over the fourth quarter with his opportunistic scoring as Golden State was able to come out on top despite missing Jimmy Butler.
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This is not the first time a Warrior has fallen ill during this series. Brandin Podziemski suffered from food poisoning during Game 2 and played very limited and ineffective minutes against a stifling Houston defense.
Should the Warriors advance, they will play the Wolves in Minneapolis on Tuesday in the second round of the playoffs. That game — between Minnesota and either the Warriors or the Rockets — is set for a 6:30 p.m. PT tipoff.
