The Golden State Warriors brushed off the unsettling absence of injured star Stephen Curry on Wednesday to demolish the Houston Rockets and advance to the next round of the NBA playoffs.
The Warriors’ hopes of successfully defending their NBA crown received a blow on Sunday after Curry was sidelined for at least two weeks with a sprained knee ligament.
However, they did enough in a 114-81 rout of the Rockets to remind the pretenders to their crown that they remain a formidable outfit even without their talisman.
The 4-1 series victory means the Warriors are to next face either the Portland Trail Blazers or the injury-ravaged Los Angeles Clippers in the next round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Portland appear to be in pole position to face Golden State after defeating the Clippers 108-98 on Wednesday to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Whether the Blazers would have enough to trouble the Warriors, even without Curry, remains to be seen.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr, who received his NBA Coach of the Year award just before tip-off at the Oracle Arena, hailed his team’s strength in depth after the win.
“Literally every single guy on our roster contributed during this series,” Kerr said.
That point was emphasized by the performance of Curry’s replacement, veteran Shaun Livingston, who finished with 16 points on Wednesday.
James Harden scored a game-high 35 points for the Rockets, but the result was never in doubt after the Warriors sprinted into a 37-20 lead in the first quarter that they never looked like losing.
While the Warriors overcame the absence of Curry smoothly, the Clippers were unable to paper over the gaping hole in their ranks left by the absence of injured stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.
The Clippers fought bravely to stay in touch heading into the fourth quarter at the Staples Center.
However, as the game reached its critical phase, Portland stretched away to seal a deserved win that leaves them needing just one more victory to advance. Game 6 takes place today in Portland.
C.J. McCollum finished with 27 points, while Damian Lillard scored 16 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter.
Maurice Harkless added 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Allen Crabbe had 11 points, and Mason Plumlee and Gerald Henderson contributed 10 points to cap a fine all-round display.
For the Clippers, J.J. Redick finished with 19 points, while Jamal Crawford scored 17. DeAndre Jordan added 16 points and 17 rebounds.
Clippers coach Doc Rivers said his team had been running on empty when it mattered.
“Like they turned their energy up in the beginning of the third [quarter] and we were exhausted,” Rivers said. “I had to call two timeouts. You could just see it. That is not conditioning, that was emotion.”
Redick insisted the Clippers would be ready to rise to the challenge when they hit the road to face Portland.
“I do not want to equate a basketball game to death, but it is do or die,” Redick said afterward.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, the Charlotte Hornets stunned the Miami Heat 90-88 to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Courtney Lee was the hero for Charlotte, sinking a game-winning three-pointer with a little less than 30 seconds left to leave the Hornets within one win of a place in the next round.
Charlotte are at home for today’s Game 6, where victory would see them advance.
Lee set up his game-winning play after grabbing a crucial long rebound. He also conjured a key block on Dwyane Wade with 2.6 seconds left as the Hornets held on.
“He is a terrific athlete and he has good timing,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS