Warriors: G Stephen Curry (R MCL sprain) and F Kevon Looney (L hip surgery) were listed as out and placed on the inactive list.
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Curry said he didn’t re-injure his ankle – which he sprained in Game 1 of the series against the Rockets – but he’ll continue to get treatment on that as well.
The Dubs have done just fine in the absence of the reigning MVP, winning the game Curry hurt his knee in by 27 points and taking Game 5 by an even more lopsided margin of 33 points to advance to the Western Conference Semis. The rest of the team stepped up, too, including Shaun Livingston and Draymond Green.
Curry’s replacement in the starting lineup, Shaun Livingston, finished with 16 points. Iguodala scored 18 off the bench.
OAKLAND, Calif. – With the Houston Rockets’ season finally over after a 114-81 loss to the Golden State Warriors, the truth was finally uttered in the locker room. The Warriors outscored the Rockets in every quarter, and, as a team, have posted a +60 point differential since losing Curry at halftime of Game 4.
Harden finished with a game-high 35 points to go with six rebounds and a team-high six assists, but it was not almost enough to overcome a balanced Warriors attack. DeAndre Jordan added 16 points and 17 rebounds.
James Harden No.13 of the Houston Rockets drives on Ian Clark No.21 of the Golden State Warriors in Game Five of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2016 NBA Playoffs at ORACLE Arena on Thursday in Oakland, California.
“A lot of distractions, a lot of things didn’t go our way”, Harden said. But his comeback lasted only a half before he suffered another injury.
Curry said he doesn’t feel compelled to rush back because he’s confident his teammates can get the job done without him until he’s ready. It was the single most dominant performance I have seen all year (aside from maybe the 50 point victory over Memphis).
The Warriors now await the victor of the series between Portland Trailblazers and Los Angeles Clippers. Whatever blueprint for success the Warriors found duringthat stretchwill serve them well until Curry returns. You could just see it. No game-day announcement about whether he will play or sit.
Then Green blasted out of the gates like a spaceship-handing out four assists in the first few minutes, making both of his early three-point attempts and leading the Warriors to an instant 8-0 lead. The Warriors have been forced to play men down so many times before, including on the way to a record 73 regular-season wins, albeit not without the MVP who accounts for 30.1 points per game.
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“I have the utmost faith and confidence in the other 14 guys on this team to go out and show who they are and what they’re capable of”, he said. The veteran guard guaranteed that the Rockets, which lost Game 4 despite Steph Curry suffering another injury, would send the series back to Houston. The Warriors jumped out to a 37-20 first quarter lead thanks to scoring from all five starters and two reserves, lively ball movement resulting in 12 assists on 14 field goals, and the generally joyful and raucous runs that arethis team’s calling card. Harden did his best to carry the Rockets on his shoulders, but against a team this, all around, skilled with this much depth that’s this good it was just nowhere near enough. Steve Kerr has repeatedly turned to his bench to find significant contributors who had played minor roles (or no role) in the prior games. Now they face many offseason questions, the biggest being who will coach this team and whether Dwight Howard will opt out of the past year of his contract and become a free agent.
