Rockets’ Paul on hamstring injury: ‘I will be all right’

Rockets point guard Chris Paul, who sat out the final seconds of Houston's win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday because of a right hamstring injury, is optimistic that he won't miss additional action.

Paul told Marc J. Spears of ESPN's The Undefeated late Thursday night, "I will be all right," adding that he expects to play in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals on Saturday in Oakland, Calif.

Coach Mike D'Antoni said to reporters postgame that Paul is "worried" about his status. The Rockets beat the Warriors 98-94 to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals.

"We'll see (if he can play Saturday)," D'Antoni added. "He'll be evaluated (Friday). They'll do whatever they can do. If he's there, great. If he isn't, we have enough guys. ... We'll be all right."

Should Paul be unavailable, Eric Gordon would inherit the point guard role, D'Antoni said. Gordon scored a team-high 24 points off the bench Thursday.

Paul was hurt while driving the lane with just under one minute to play. He didn't head back on defense on the subsequent possession, and he was limping as he came out of the game with 22.4 seconds to go.

Paul missed all seven of his first-half field-goal attempts but went 6-for-12 after halftime to finish with 20 points. He added seven rebounds and six assists.

The 33-year-old veteran is averaging 21.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists in the playoffs. Paul produced 18.6 points, 5.4 boards and 7.9 assists per game in the regular season. —Reuters