Warriors 115, Rockets 80
HOUSTON -- Keyed by a stifling first-half defensive performance and propelled by a brilliant third-quarter shooting display from Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors rolled to a 115-80 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night at Toyota Center to grab a commanding 3-0 series lead in the Western Conference finals.
Houston will host Game 4 on Monday night looking to avert a sweep.
Curry scored 40 points, including 19 in the third quarter on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and 4-for-4 from 3-point range.
After the Rockets put a slight dent into a 25-point halftime deficit with a 7-1 spurt to open the third quarter, Curry applied the knockout punch with his sensational shooting.
Curry drilled a trey, converted two scoop shots on drives to the basket and nailed another corner 3 after a scramble under the basket resulted in the ball rolling to him. The spurt pushed the Golden State lead to 76-50, and just for good measure, Curry added two more treys and a driving layup as the Warriors led 92-61 entering the fourth quarter.
The Warriors shot a pedestrian 45.4 percent from the field as guard Klay Thompson scored 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting and forward Harrison Barnes missed all nine of his shots and failed to score.
Warriors forward Draymond Green (17 points, 13 rebounds) and center Andrew Bogut (12 points, 12 rebounds) had double-doubles.
Golden State, however, dominated defensively, limiting Houston to 29.3 percent shooting from the field in the first half, including 2 of 13 on 3-pointers.
Rockets guard James Harden, brilliant in close losses in Games 1 and 2, missed seven of eight shots before the intermission against suffocating double teams. Center Dwight Howard, who has 12 of his 14 points by the break, was the Rockets' lone double-digit scorer before halftime.
With Harden unable to get to the basket, the Rockets struggled to hit open shots. The Warriors didn't provide many opportunities, frequently beating the Rockets to the punch.
Offensively, the Warriors moved the ball splendidly yet with care, logging 15 assists against one turnover in the opening 24 minutes.
The Warriors' early ball movement allowed Bogut to score 10 first-quarter points and Curry had just three. But when the need arose for Curry to score, he did so without hesitation.
Harden finished with 17 points on 3-of-16 shooting from the field. Howard added 14 rebounds. The Warriors had a 60-39 rebounded advantage.
NOTES: After Rockets C Dwight Howard played 40 minutes in Game 2, coach Kevin McHale appears to have moved beyond any concern over the left knee sprain that Howard suffered in the series opener. "I was glad to hear that he felt pretty good after playing him a lot of minutes the other night," McHale said. "We're going to play him as much as we can." ... Warriors coach Steve Kerr handed F Harrison Barnes the defensive assignment on Rockets G James Harden late in Game 2, and Kerr remains committed to utilizing the depth of his wing defenders to deter Harden. "With any great player you don't want to give him the same guy every time down," Kerr said. "That means you mix up coverages, you changes matchups. It's one of the strengths of our team. So we can mix and match a little bit."