|
 Oh, and the 2015 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player, too.
Livingston began and ended a key fourth-quarter spurt with baskets,
and supersub Andre Iguodala helped make up for Curry's lost
firepower with four 3-pointers as the Warriors won a second straight
from the Houston Rockets in their best-of-seven series, 115-106.
Golden State, now 2-0 in the postseason after a record-setting,
73-win regular season, was able to win without Curry, who injured
his right ankle late in the second quarter of the Warriors' blowout
win in Game 1 on Saturday. He had been listed as questionable for
Game 2.
The reigning regular-season Most Valuable Player, who scored 24
points in just 20 minutes in Game 1, declared himself out shortly
after cutting short a pregame warmup that was designed to test the
ankle.
"When you lost the MVP, you have concern," Kerr said. "But we
believe in our depth and in our ability to win when we're down a
man, even if it is Steph."
Curry's status for Game 3, which is scheduled for Thursday night in
Houston, remains up in the air.
"We never want to put winning ahead of a player's career and his
health," Kerr said. "We want to make sure Steph is right and his
(ankle) is fine and healthy.
"Obviously, being up 2-0 does give us more cushion if we decide to
sit him (in Game 3). But it will be based on his health, not the
series score."
Livingston started in Curry's place and complemented guard Klay
Thompson's 34 points with 16 of his own. He also found time for six
assists in 29 minutes.
"He was playing so well, it was tough to take him out," Kerr said of
Livingston. "His effort was fantastic."
Livingston's two biggest hoops came in an 11-1 flurry in the fourth
quarter after the Rockets, trying to put Saturday's 26-point loss
behind them, clung within 88-85 with 9:51 to play.
Livingston began the key run with a jumper, after which the Warriors
made seven consecutive free throws, including five by Thompson.
Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff got nailed with a technical
foul along the way, accounting for one of Thompson's foul shots.
Livingston then capped the burst with a fastbreak hoop that created
the Warriors' biggest lead of the game to that point, 99-85, with
6:48 left.
"They do such a good job of capitalizing off your missed shots,"
said Rockets star James Harden, who missed a 4-footer that could
have pulled Houston within one before Livingston began the run. "So
it went from a three-point lead to six, seven, whatever ... and they
just built on it. It's hard to recover from there."
Golden State was never threatened the rest of the way, beating
Houston for a sixth consecutive meeting and the 14th time in their
past 15 matchups.
Thompson, hitting three 3-pointers and 15 of 16 from the free-throw
line, led all scorers. He never attempted more than 12 foul shots
nor made more than 10 all season.
[to top of second column] |
Draymond Green had team highs in rebounds (14) and assists (eight)
to go with 12 points, and Iguodala dropped seven of his 10 shots en
route to 18 points for the Warriors, who shot 49.4 percent from the
field and hit eight of their 23 3-point attempts.
Center Andrew Bogut also helped out with 10 points (on 5-for-6
shooting) and seven rebounds.
"You know, there is something to the slogan 'Strength in Numbers.'
It's something we really do play by," Thompson said. "We always use
it every night."
Harden led the Rockets with 28 points, 13 coming from the line on 15
free throws. However, he shot just 7-for-19 from the field,
including 1-for-8 from 3-point range.
Harden, who also had 11 assists, thought a golden opportunity
slipped away.
"For sure," he said of Curry's absence. "We played a little bit
better (than Game 1) today. Just didn't play well enough to get a
win."
Harden noted two key shortcomings: allowing 23 Warriors points after
19 turnovers, and giving up 13 offensive rebounds that produced 18
Golden State points.
Dwight Howard posted a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double for the
Rockets, who bettered Golden State in 3-pointers, making 10 of 25,
but fell well short from shorter range, finishing at 44.3 percent
overall.
"We like to take 3-point shots, and that hasn't changed,"
Bickerstaff said. "But at certain points in the game, we need to put
pressure on the rim. We just have to be a little more patient."
Patrick Beverley and Jason Terry added 13 points apiece for the
Rockets, who also will host Game 4 of the series on Sunday.
Down by as many as 11 points in the first half, the Rockets got
seven third-quarter points from Harden and rallied within three late
in the period.
An interior hoop by Warriors reserve guard Leandro Barbosa extended
the lead back to 88-79 in the first minute of the fourth quarter.
But as occurred all night, the Rockets wouldn't go away.
Harden hit a tough jumper and Terry added a hoop and two free throws
to make it a three-point game.
However, each then missed interior attempts that could have sliced
the deficit to one, and the Warriors followed with Livingston's
hoops and a parade to the free-throw line, finally pushing the
visitors an arm's length away.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
