Golden State level Western Conference NBA finals 3-3 with victory over Houston

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Golden State Warriors guard Nick Young (6) celebrates in front of Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) during game six.

An awful start followed by three quarters of utter dominance, spot-on shot-making and beautiful defence - even against one of basketball's greatest and hardest to stop in James Harden.

That's the way it has been for these up-and-down, uber-talented Golden State Warriors, who leave even their coach perplexed.

"I have no clue why our team is like this," Steve Kerr said. "It's kind of what we do."

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Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry slices between Houston Rockets Trevor Ariza and James Harden.

They can still do it all the way to a fourth straight NBA finals.

Klay Thompson knocked down nine three-pointers on the way to 35 points, the Warriors held Harden down in the second half, and Golden State rallied from an early 17-point deficit to stave off elimination with a 115-86 victory over the Houston Rockets in Oakland on Saturday night (Sunday NZT) to make it 3-3 in the Western Conference finals. The deciding game seven is on Monday (Tuesday NZT) in Houston.

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Houston Rockets centre Clint Capela, left, tries to control the ball against Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, right, and guard Klay Thompson, rear.

"I guess you could say I was born for it. Man, that felt good," Thompson said.

Stephen Curry added 29 points and five 3s on a night Harden dazzled for long stretches with 32 points, nine assists and seven rebounds while backcourt mate Chris Paul sat out sidelined by a strained right hamstring.

Kevin Durant struggled with his stroke at six for 17 but still scored 23 points as the defending champions kept their repeat quest alive by thoroughly outplaying Houston in the second half. The Warriors outscored the Rockets 55-20 in the second half before both coaches subbed their key players with 4:28 left.

A dynamic, star-studded series projected to be as captivating and compelling as the actual NBA finals is going the distance.

"We just didn't want to go out like that," Thompson said, "we wanted to force game seven so badly."

Golden State stymied Harden on consecutive possessions early in the fourth with smothering defense led by Nick Young and several helpers, then Thompson hit a three-pointer from the left wing at 9:40 for an 89-77 lead. And roaring Oracle Arena went crazy with hopes of even more home games to come if Golden State can get to a fourth straight finals.

Thompson came through with his best performance of these playoffs with the season on the line, just as he did in a 2016 game six of the Western Conference finals at Oklahoma City when he went off for 41 points against Durant and the Thunder to force game seven.

"I thought Klay was amazing tonight, not just the 35 points and the nine threes but his defence," Kerr said. "The guy's a machine. He's just so fit physically. He seems to thrive in these situations."

Thompson went a combined 20 of 32 from three-point range in those two game sixes.

Golden State did it playing again without forward Andre Iguodala, who missed his third straight game of the series with a bone bruise in his left knee sustained in game three.