No
Curry, no worry as Warriors eliminate Rockets
Send a link to a friend
[April 28, 2016]
(The Sports Xchange) - The Golden
State Warriors did not skip a beat without key point guard Stephen
Curry, routing the Houston Rockets 114-81 on Wednesday to seal a 4-1
series triumph in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
|
The defending NBA champs will move on to face either the Portland
Trail Blazers or Los Angeles Clippers.
If the Trail Blazers, up 3-2 in the series, can finish off the
injury-ravaged Clippers at home on Friday, the Western semi-final
best-of-seven would start on Sunday in Oakland.
The Warriors almost surely will be without Curry for most, if not
all, of the second-round series after he sprained the medial
collateral ligament in his right knee during Game 4 against the
Rockets on Sunday.
Golden State improved to 4-2 without the reigning NBA Most Valuable
Player by winning the series clincher against the Rockets, with
veteran Shaun Livingston stepping into Curry's starting role and
contributing 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting.
Ten of Livingston's points came on 4-for-4 shooting and a pair of
free throws in the first quarter, during which the Warriors scored
the first eight points and suffocated every Rocket not named James
Harden en route to a 37-20 lead.
 Harden had 18 points in the quarter, hitting six of eight shots.
Meanwhile, his team mates never made a hoop in the 12 minutes, going
0-for-15 from the field and 0-for-7 from 3-point range.
Dwight Howard's two free throws provided the only Houston scoring
other than by Harden in the period.
Harden finished with a game-high 35 points to go with six rebounds
and a team-high six assists, but it was not nearly enough to
overcome a balanced Warriors attack.
Klay Thompson led Golden State with 27 points, burying 10 of 14
shots and seven of 11 3-point attempts.
The Warriors finished 13-for-31 from beyond the arc, outscoring the
Rockets 39-18 from long range despite taking two fewer attempts.
Houston went 6-for-33 on 3-pointers, with Harden making three of
seven tries.
[to top of second column] |

Draymond Green contributed 15 points and team highs in rebounds
(nine) and assists (eight) to the win, which was Golden State's 42nd
in 44 home games this season.
Andre Iguodala had six points and six assists, and Brandon Rush was
good for 15 points off the Warriors' bench.
Howard dominated the backboards with 21 rebounds. However, he missed
10 of 13 shots and finished with just eight points.
Houston's starters other than Harden shot a combined 8-for-33 and
totaled 19 points.
Michael Beasley had 11 points off the Houston bench, but he got
little help from the Rockets' reserve crew. The other Houston
reserves combined to miss 21 of their 27 shots and totaled 16
points.
The Rockets shot just 32.3 percent from the field, including just
28.3 percent (13-for-46) in the first half while falling behind by
as many as 22.
Golden State made 54.9 percent of its field-goal attempts.
The Warriors led by as many as 33 points in the third quarter and 34
late in the game.
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |