Rockets at Warriors
The news wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but the Golden State Warriors will still be without MVP Stephen Curry when they attempt to close out the Houston Rockets at home in Game 5 on Wednesday. Curry left Sunday’s Game 4 after slipping on the floor at the end of the half and was diagnosed with a sprained MCL in his right knee.
Curry will sit for two weeks before being reevaluated, putting his availability for the next round in jeopardy should the Warriors, as expected, close out the eighth-seeded Rockets. The star guard was defending on the final play of the first half on Sunday when he slipped on a wet spot and had his right knee bend awkwardly on his way to the ground. "We said two weeks, but that's no guarantee that it will be in two weeks, might be after two weeks, might be before," Golden State general manager Bob Myers told reporters after an MRI exam on Monday. "But I think it will be somewhere in that range, hopefully." Houston had a chance to even the series with Curry limping around the locker room on Sunday at home and instead were outscored 65-38 in the second half of a 121-94 loss.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT, ROOT Southwest (Houston), CSN Bay Area (Golden State)
ABOUT THE ROCKETS: The difference in effort between the teams was noticeable in the second half on Sunday, and Houston interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff was not afraid to call out his players after the game. “When the moment calls for us to raise our intensity levels, we dropped our guard,” Bickerstaff told reporters. “You could see the difference in the way that (the Warriors) played in that third quarter and how they scrapped and how they got every loose ball. You could see the intent in their guys’ eyes.” The Rockets allowed 41 points in the third quarter and now need a miraculous comeback for the second straight postseason – they overcame a 3-1 deficit to the Los Angeles Clippers in the second round last spring before falling to Golden State in the conference finals.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS: Golden State is already 1-1 in the series while playing without Curry, who sat out Games 2 and 3 with a sprained right ankle. The Warriors tend to lean on Curry’s epic scoring binges when the offense stalls, but All-Stars Draymond Green and Klay Thompson both stepped up in the second half on Sunday and are ready to carry more of the load. “It was the way we were moving the ball and trusting each other on both sides of the ball,” Thompson told reporters of the 41-point third quarter. “That’s what we’ve got to do to beat this team. We knew, as soon as Steph went down, we were going to have to do it by ourselves.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Warriors are 3-2 without Curry this season and averaged 10.2 fewer points in those five games.
2. Houston PG Patrick Beverley (hamstring) also sat out the second half on Sunday and is questionable for Game 5.
3. Golden State set an NBA playoff record with 21 made 3-pointers in Game 4.