Rockets at Warriors
The Golden State Warriors looked every bit like the best team in the NBA in Game 1 of their first-round series but did not come out of the 26-point victory with all positives. The Warriors hope to have star guard Stephen Curry (ankle) available when they host the eighth-seeded Houston Rockets in Game 2 on Monday.
Curry scored 24 points in 19 minutes in Game 1 but rolled his right ankle and barely played in the second half as the Warriors cruised to a 104-78 win. Coach Steve Kerr called him “questionable” for Game 2, but Curry disagreed. "Right now, don't see a scenario where I'll be out," Curry told reporters. "Obviously, if it's not right and I'm at risk of further injury or whatnot, that's the only thing that we'll have to worry about. Pain tolerance and all that stuff, I kind of know what I can deal with on the court. But you don't want anything more serious to happen, favoring an ankle or whatnot. So that's what we'll kind of pay attention to the next two days.” The Rockets will spend their off day trying to figure out how to coax more offense out of a team that shot 35.7 percent from the field, including 6-of-22 from 3-point range, in the opener.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT, ROOT (Houston), CSN Bay Area (Golden State)
ABOUT THE ROCKETS: Houston went with a smaller lineup to try to counter Golden State, inserting Corey Brewer into the starting lineup in place of power forward Donatas Motiejunas to give the defense more athleticism. "Defensively, we thought it gave us more versatility to switch things," Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff told reporters. "Games we've watched, the way we've studied it, the teams that have had success versus them defensively weren't chasing them all over the floor. They just check in front of them. So we went that way." The defensive changes backfired and the offense stalled as star James Harden went 7-of-19 from the floor and did not attempt a free throw for the first time in 148 games.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS: Golden State was plus-28 with Curry on the floor in Game 1 and doesn’t want to play without its star, but is prepared if necessary. “If you lose the MVP, it’s going to change your team,” Warriors forward Draymond Green told reporters. “I think he’ll be fine at some point. One man is not going to come out and be Steph Curry. We have to do it collectively. But we have the blueprint (for winning without Curry). We know we can do it, if we have to.” Fellow All-Star guard Klay Thompson struggled from the field (4-of-14) but Green collected 12 points and 10 rebounds and Golden State scored 33 points off Houston’s 24 turnovers in Game 1.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Brewer managed three points on 1-of-8 shooting in 28 minutes while Motiejunas scored eight in 12 minutes off the bench.
2. Curry and Rockets PG Patrick Beverley got called for technical fouls after getting tangled up and shoving each other in the first half.
3. Curry has hit at least one 3-pointer in 174 straight games including the playoffs.