Warriors rip Rockets to pieces
CURRY FIRES 40 PTS; GOLDEN STATE 3-0 UP
HOUSTON – 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 finals.
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 one victory away from its first trip to the NBA Finals since 1975. Game 4 is Monday night in Houston.
“We understand it’s a special moment, it’s just we’re wrapped up in our day to day grind of preparing for games and going out and exerting all the effort we need to make this story happen,” Curry said. “So it’s kind of hard to remove yourself from those emotions.”
Curry was unstoppable, making seven 3-pointers to break the NBA record for most 3s in the playoffs in a season with 64.
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 straight for the first time all season.
Dwight Howard, who played despite a knee injury suffered in Game 1, had 14 points and 14 rebounds.
Houston rebounded from a 3-1 deficit in the conference semifinals to beat the Clippers and move on. No team in NBA history has won a series after falling behind 3-0.
“We just can’t quit on each other,” Howard said. “We’ve come too far. We’ve been through too many battles to just allow it to end like tonight ... we’ve just got to man up.”
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 5 1/2 minutes remaining after his seventh 3-pointer made it 103-73. He also had seven rebounds and five assists.
After coach Steve Kerr complained about turnovers in the last game, the Warriors had just one before halftime to help them run away with this one early.
“If we defend like crazy and take off the ball, we’re going to be in good shape,” Kerr said.
The Rockets have rebounded from doubledigit deficits in three of their eight wins this postseason, but this time they fell into a hole way too big to overcome. Especially when Harden’s shots weren’t falling.