Curry’s 40-point flurry pushes Warriors within game of finals

Stephen Curry scored 40 points and the Golden State Warriors made it look easy against Houston, beating the Rockets 115-80 on Saturday night to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference final.

The Warriors won the first two games by just five points combined. There would be no such drama in this one, with Curry leading them to a 26-point advantage in the second quarter.

Now the baby-faced MVP has Golden State just a win away from its first trip to the NBA Finals since 1975. Game 4 is Monday night in Houston.

Curry was unstoppable, making seven 3-pointers to break the NBA record for most 3s in the playoffs in a season with 64. Reggie Miller set the previous mark of 58 in 2000.

MVP runner-up James Harden finished with 17 points behind 10-of-11 free-throw shooting, but made just 3 of 16 shots as the Rockets dropped three in a row for the first time all season. Dwight Howard, who played despite a knee injury suffered in Game 1, had 14 points and 14 rebounds.

Draymond Green and Klay Thompson added 17 points apiece for the Warriors.

Curry had 37 points after three quarters and went to the bench for good with about 5½ minutes remaining after his seventh 3-pointer made it 103-73. He also had seven rebounds and five assists.

The Rockets have rebounded from double-digit deficits in three of their eight wins this post-season, but this time they fell into a hole way too big to overcome. Especially when Harden’s shots weren’t falling.

A pair of free throws by Harden cut the lead to nine points with about six minutes left in the quarter when Curry took over. He scored the next six points as part of a 16-5 run where he scored all but two of the Warriors points to push the lead to 54-34.