Warriors at Rockets
The Golden State Warriors are one victory away from advancing to the NBA
Finals for the first time since 1975 and look to finish off a sweep of
the host Houston Rockets on Monday. Golden State dismantled Houston
115-80 in Game 3 to take the commanding lead and no team in NBA history
has recovered from such a deficit.
League MVP Stephen Curry poured in 40 points and was 7-of-9 from 3-point
range on Saturday and he promises that the Warriors aren’t about to
take their foot off the pedal. “We have five more wins to accomplish our
main goal and obviously one more to get one step closer,” Curry said
during Sunday’s press conference, “so until that happens there’s no time
to really lose focus or to change anything about how we’ve gotten
here.” The Rockets are on the other side of the equation and were
demoralized during the contest and downright depressed following it. “We
can’t fold. We can’t quit because we’re down,” center Dwight Howard
said after Saturday’s game. “It’s easy to just give up and say they’re
playing great. But they’re going to have to take all of us out on a
stretcher.”
TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN
ABOUT THE WARRIORS: Curry’s sharpshooting has been superb this postseason and he has made 64 3-pointers to surpass the single-season playoff record set by Reggie Miller (58 in 2000) while also becoming the first player to drain five or more in five consecutive postseason games. “Just trying to have ultimate confidence every time I step foot on the floor that every shot you take is going to go in and just enjoy the moment,” Curry told reporters. Curry has 107 points in the series, third-best all-time in a player’s first three conference finals games behind Rick Barry (116) and Amar’e Stoudemire (112).
ABOUT THE ROCKETS: Houston will need a much better effort from NBA runner-up James Harden if it is to rebound from the worst home postseason defeat in franchise history. The star guard was just 3-of-16 shooting while scoring a playoff-low 17 points and struggled while being defended primarily by Andre Iguodala and Harrison Barnes after having little trouble scoring against Klay Thompson over the first two games. “We were too relaxed, we were too comfortable,” Harden told reporters of the club’s woeful effort. “We were playing downhill the majority of the game. Trying to come back, trying to fight. The fight wasn’t enough.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Warriors C Andrew Bogut had 12 points and 12 rebounds in Game 3 and is averaging 13 points and 10 boards over the past two games.
2. Houston SG Jason Terry is averaging 6.7 points on 7-of-23 shooting in the series.
3. Barnes missed all nine of his shots in Game 3 and is 3-of-17 over the last two games.