Stephen Curry scored 35 points and Kevin Durant added 25 to lead the Golden State Warriors in a 126-85 blowout of the Houston Rockets in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals.
The win gave the Warriors a 2-1 lead in the series, with Game 4 set to be played on Tuesday night in Golden State.
Curry Comes to Life
Curry was especially dominant in the third quarter, a period that the Warriors have dominated all season long. Curry went 7-for-7 and scored 18 points in the third, as Golden State expanded an 11-point halftime lead to a 21-point advantage.
“I was searching for it in the first half,” Curry said after the win. “I had plenty of opportunities, I just couldn’t knock it down. Third quarter it opened up. I’ve been doing it for a while. I won’t let two tough games shooting keep me frustrated.”
Curry cited confidence in his ability as the main factor that allowed him to bounce back so easily from the first two games, when he went just 2-for-13 from three-point distance.
“A lot of it was just talking to myself, almost like you’ve got to be your biggest fan sometimes,” he said. “Everybody’s human. But consistently, that’s what’s gotten me through some tough times and really keeps my perspective right when games go well too, because it can change quick.”
Record Performance
The 41-point margin broke records on both sides of the outcome. The Warriors not only won their 16th straight home playoff game, breaking a record set by the Chicago Bulls in 1990 and 1991, but they did so with the franchise’s largest margin of victory ever in a postseason contest. Meanwhile, the Rockets suffered their most lopsided playoff loss in their history.
James Harden scored 20 points to lead the Rockets, while Chris Paul and Clint Capela each added 13 in the losing effort. But Harden and Paul shot a combined 12-for-32 on the night as Houston struggled to find a rhythm on the offensive end.
“Offensively we didn’t have any thrust, and they exploited it,” Harden told reporters.
Despite the disappointing effort, the Rockets say that they remain confident that they can get a road win in Game 4 and earn back their home court advantage in the series.
“Golden State has all the pressure,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni told The Mercury News during the team’s Monday practice. “They got to win tomorrow night. We should come in with a little bit of swagger and giddy up in our game.”
Houston has shown an ability to bounce back from losses. So far in this year’s postseason, the Rockets are now 3-0 following a loss, a record that includes their Game 2 win in this series.
At the moment, though, it is Golden State who has the clear advantage in the series. Following Sunday night’s blowout, Ladbrokes now has the Warriors as an overwhelming 1/9 favorite to advance to the NBA Finals, while the Rockets can be backed at 6/1. Golden State is also a 3/10 pick to win the NBA championship this season.