Harden hits form as Houston stave off series defeat
ROCKETS SECURE GAME FOUR VICTORY AS CURRY PLAYS ON AFTER FALL
A play-off career-high 45 points by James Harden sparked the Houston Rockets to a 128-115 must-win victory over Golden State on Monday, denying the Warriors an easy path to the NBA Finals.
The Warriors had a scare and then breathed a sigh of relief after NBA Player of the Year Stephen Curry suffered a bruise to the back of his head after a bad fall in the second quarter, but then returned to the game.
Houston got their first win in the series, pulling to 3-1 in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals and forcing a fifth game on Wednesday in Oakland. They snapped Golden State’s sixgame win streak.
“We’re going to come out with some great intensity,” Harden said. “They are a tough team and we know we have to work hard.”
Curry called his spill the scariest fall he has suffered in a game, although he added he has been hurt worse and will be ready for game five. “I will be fine,” Curry said. “I feel pretty good. Just not how I envisioned the game going, disappointed we lost. I came out of that relatively OK and tried to go in there and give my team something.”
Curry passed mandatory NBA concussion tests before being allowed back into the game midway into the third quarter.
“Obviously it’s always scary when a guy hits his neck,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “He was up and went back to the locker room. Our doctors cleared him and he’s doing fine.”
While the Rockets prevented a sweep, no team in NBA history has recovered from a 3-0 deficit to win a play-off series.
“We’re a really good team when we are moving the ball and working together,” Harden said. “We’ve got to do a better job of being consistent.”
Harden made 13-of-22 shots from the floor, including 7-of-11 from 3-point range, and added nine rebounds and five assists. “He played a hell of a game,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. The Rockets improved to 4-0 in play-off games when facing elimination, the first team with such a postseason run since the 2006 Phoenix Suns. The West champions will face the Eastern Conference champions in the NBA Finals starting June 4. Cleveland lead Atlanta 3-0 in the East ahead of yesterday’s game four.