Rockets rout Warriors to even Western series

James Harden and Eric Gordon each scored 27 points to lead a balanced attack and the Houston Rockets routed the Golden State Warriors 127-105 on Wednesday night to even the Western Conference finals at one game apiece.

The Rockets didn't trail after the first quarter and led by double digits for most of the night. They head to Oakland, California for Game 3 on Sunday night feeling much better after rebounding from a deflating 119-106 loss in the series opener.

P.J. Tucker added a playoff career-high 22 and Trevor Ariza had 19 as both bounced back after struggling in Game1.

Kevin Durant had 38 points after scoring 37 in the opener, but Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined for just 24 points.

J.R. Smith reached out, placed his hands on Al Horford’s back and shoved the Celtics’ big man out of bounds. It was the only time Smith was on target. Smith’s shoddy performance in Game 2 — he missed all seven shots and committed a flagrant foul in 27 minutes — underscored a startling disparity between the starting backcourts that allowed the Celtics to withstand a 42-point effort by LeBron James and take a 2-0 lead over the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals Tuesday night.

Smith and point guard George Hill were outscored 41-3 by the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier, who were faster, hungrier and maybe tougher.

“I don’t think tougher,” said Smith, who won’t be further punished for his aggressive foul on Horford. “They made shots; we missed shots at the end of the day. We had some good looks, but they didn’t fall.

“It’s a matter for us to bounce back, go home, try and (win) two, even the series up and come back here.”

Thanks to the NBA’s odd scheduling, Game 3 is not until Saturday night, giving Cavs coach Tyronn Lue plenty of time to consider tweaks to his starting lineup and rotations. After a 25-point lambasting in the opener, Lue altered his frontcourt by putting Tristan Thompson with the first five and bringing Kyle Korver off the bench.

The moves worked as Thompson provided needed energy and Korver knocked down four 3-pointers and gave the Celtics’ defense more to worry about than just James.

Now Lue has to ponder another shake-up