Harden’s heroics not enough for Rockets
Guard rallied team that was trailing by 17, but Warriors held on to win by one
OAKLAND, CALIF.— Stephen Curry scored 33 points to turn back another spectacular performance by James Harden, and the Golden State Warriors held off the Houston Rockets 99-98 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.
Harden rallied the Rockets from 17 points down in the second quarter and had a chance to finish off the comeback in the final seconds of the fourth. Instead, Klay Thompson and Curry trapped Harden, who lost the ball as time expired.
Harden fell to the floor and put his hands over his head as the Warriors celebrated on the court, the sellout crowd roared and golden-yellow confetti fell from the rafters.
Harden had 38 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, and Dwight Howard overcame a sprained left knee that slowed him down to finish with 19 points and 17 rebounds for a Rockets team headed home in a major hole. Game 3 is Saturday in Houston. Curry, the NBA MVP, made five 3pointers to go with six assists and three rebounds. He got a big boost from his teammates — notably Andrew Bogut, Draymond Green and Thompson — to regroup after the Warriors lost the big lead in the first half.
But the Warriors pulled ahead again late in the fourth quarter because of Curry — with his shot and his passes.
Curry connected on a 3-pointer, then found Bogut under the rim for a layup that sent the 7-footer flexing his muscles and shouting to the roaring, yellow-shirt wearing crowd. Bogut missed the ensuing free throw, but the Warriors led 96-89 with 2:25 left.
Harden, the MVP runner-up, kept finding ways to draw fouls and brought Houston back on free throws. The Rockets also forced the Warriors into an 8-second, backcourt violation before Harden found Howard for an alley-oop that sliced Golden State’s lead to 99-98 with 33 seconds remaining.
Harrison Barnes missed a difficult reverse layup as the shot clock nearly expired. Harden got the ball down the court, but was trapped by Thompson and Curry. Time expired amid the scramble for the ball.
The Warriors bench ran onto the court in celebration. Harden lay on the floor until teammates helped him up.
That finished a back-and-forth contest — one that saw the Rockets rally the same way the Warriors did in Game 1, when they came back from a 16-point deficit in the second quarter.
Curry made four 3-pointers and scored 15 points in the first quarter, and the Warriors turned the start of the second into a highlight show without him — big blocks, transition dunks and deep 3s.
The most crowd-pleasing moment came when Bogut bounced a pass to Andre Iguodala for a soaring dunk with Howard protecting the rim on a 3-on-1 break. The spurt pushed the Warriors up 49-32.
Howard wore a black brace over his sprained left knee. He lacked the usual lift in his legs — unable to contest many of those rim-rattling dunks — but still produced on both ends.