HOUSTON — The Rockets had taken a seven-point lead against the Golden State Warriors early in the fourth quarter, their largest lead in Game 6 of the West semifinals on Friday night.

The Rockets seemed on the verge of busting this one wide open. Momentum was one-sided, the visiting team was without its best player and all the fans gathered inside the Toyota Center were eagerly awaiting a couple more triumphant stops and baskets before erupting into pandemonium.

Rockets point guard Chris Paul (27 points, 11 boards, six assists) was having his best game of the postseason, serving as a potent one-two offensive punch in the backcourt with James Harden (35 points, eight boards, five assists).

Stephen Curry was all business in the second half against the Rockets in Game 6 on Friday night. (Getty Images) More

It seemed like a Game 7 at Oracle Arena was inevitable on Sunday.

Kevin Durant, who was watching the game at his San Francisco home with his business manager, Rich Kleiman, and close friend Randy Williams, received a text at the very moment in which the Rockets were seizing control.

The message pertained to the preparation for Game 7 and what it would entail, and without hesitation, Durant promptly responded: “We’re winning this game!”

About 25 minutes later, an amped up and elated DeMarcus Cousins walked to the locker room and shouted, “I know this sh-- hurts [the Rockets]!”

In what will be viewed as perhaps one of the biggest chokes in NBA playoff history, the Rockets were eliminated in six games, 118-113, failing at home to extend the series against a Warriors team without Durant (calf injury) and Cousins (quad injury), and with Stephen Curry totaling zero first-half points for the first time in his playoff career only to explode for 33 in the final two quarters.

“That was the best 18 minutes of my career,” Curry told Yahoo Sports.

For the fifth consecutive season, the Warriors advanced to the Western Conference finals, and now they await the Denver Nuggets or the Portland Trail Blazers, who face off on Sunday.

“That was a fun game,” Klay Thompson told Yahoo Sports. “That sh-- was hard.”

Houston, for the last four seasons, has been fixated on trying to prevent the Warriors from representing the West in the NBA Finals, which made the victory all that much sweeter for the Warriors.

“I think we’re happier we beat Houston than the times we beat Cleveland,” one Warriors staffer told Yahoo Sports.

Through multiple trades and free-agent acquisitions, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey pursued versatile defenders in order to switch everything on defense, and utilized Mike D’Antoni’s offensive system of hoisting 3-pointers and converting layups and dunks to combat a Warriors core roster that was largely assembled via the draft.

From the GM to the players, the Rockets openly confessed to desperately wanting this matchup, and at times, claimed to be the better team. While celebrating with his teammates in the locker room, Warriors star Draymond Green sounded off.

“It can’t be bought,” Green said of the Rockets’ team-building methods.

With Curry saddled with three fouls in the first half, it was Thompson who carried the team offensively. He poured in 21 of his 27 points before the half, which ended 57-57.

“Klay kept us afloat in the first half with the way he played with his 21 and just hitting some big shots to kill their momentum,” Curry said. “I was in foul trouble, obviously, and couldn’t really get a feel or become assertive. Just worrying about that and at halftime we’re tied, and I had zero points. You’ve got to like that situation.”

There are no more excuses left for the Rockets.

They had two golden opportunities to accomplish their goal after Durant suffered his right calf strain in the fourth quarter of Game 5, which the Warriors went on to win. The crowd was stunned on Friday, when the Rockets faltered once again. Players exited the court with bewildered expressions.

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