Chris Paul Ruled out of Game 6 vs. Warriors with Hamstring Injury

The Houston Rockets announced Friday that point guard Chris Paul will miss Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals due to a right hamstring strain.  

According to Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports, the Rockets released the following medical update on CP3:

Paul suffered the injury during the fourth quarter of Houston's 98-94 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 on Thursday.

Golden State will host Houston in Game 6 on Saturday with the Rockets leading the series 3-2.

The Rockets left the door open for Paul to play in a potential Game 7 if Golden State wins Saturday, but Marc Stein of the New York Times tweeted, "The Rockets are naturally going to make these announcements one game at a time, because that's the right thing to do strategically, but the pessimism emanating from Houston about Paul's ability to bounce back for a potential Game 7 is unmistakable."

Prior to exiting Game 5, Paul scored 20 points to go along with seven rebounds, six assists and three steals.

Paul previously injured his right foot in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, but he played through it.

In 15 games this postseason, the 33-year-old veteran is averaging 21.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.0 steals.

He missed 24 games during the regular season due to injury or rest, and the Rockets went 15-9 in those contests.

With one more win, Paul will reach the NBA Finals for the first time in his Hall of Fame-caliber career, and the Rockets will make it back to the Finals for the first time since 1995.

James Harden will likely take on more responsibility as the primary ball-handler in Game 6 with Paul on the shelf.

That will mean more playing time for reserve shooting guards Eric Gordon and Gerald Green as well.

Houston used only seven players in its Game 5 win, but with Paul out, it may be compelled to play guards Joe Johnson and Aaron Jackson in small doses to prevent Harden, Gordon and Green from getting fatigued.