After the win, Kerr reiterated that the priority for the team is the Curry’s health.
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Thompson scored 34 points and dished out five assists for the defending champions, playing without Curry because of an injured right ankle. The Golden State Warriors have lost just seven road games all season long.
“We will definitely err on the side of caution”, Kerr said. “He wanted to stay in but he wasn’t moving well so we weren’t going to play him regardless”.
“Ahh, it’s so much easier without him out there”, Thompson joked. “When Steph’s on the floor, this man just sags in the paint”.
“I’m just kidding, man, he’s the exact opposite of that”, Thompson said, grinning. But he also knew there would be doubters, so he brought out the boogeyman, using one of the NBA’s cautionary injury tales as reasoning for sitting his star in a game he knew they could win without him.
Andre Iguodala, last year’s Finals MVP, added 18 points with four 3-pointers and Green had 12 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists.
The Warriors hardly needed their franchise player in Game 2 or Game 1 (as Curry sat out the second half) against Houston, and a four-game sweep against a clearly unmotivated Rockets squad could provide Curry with plenty of time off.
“Obviously, if it’s not right and at risk of further injury or whatnot, that’s the only thing that I think we have to worry about”, Curry said after Saturday’s game.
Shaun Livingston, who got the start in place of Curry, had 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting to go along with six assists. He made 13 of 15 free throws after not attempting one in the opener.
The emphatic win followed Golden State’s 104-78 drubbing of the Rockets in game one.
Harden considered it a missed opportunity. “We just got to do it even more as a team now and rely heavily on our defense and get out on transition”.
In Game 2, he supplied the Golden State Warriors with a great game. The Golden State Warriors are averaging 109.5 points on 45.9 percent shooting and allowing 92 points on 39.9 percent shooting.
Houston must now win one of the two upcoming home games on Thursday or Sunday to keep the series alive. He cited the example of former National Basketball Association great Grant Hill and said teams had learned from their past mistakes.
Thompson, hitting three three-pointers and 15 of 16 from the free-throw line, led all scorers. Livingston scored the next time down for a 99-86 lead. “If he’s not right, then he’s not going to play”.
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Down by as many as 11 points in the first half, the Rockets got seven third-quarter points from Harden and rallied within three late in the period.
