Page 19 - ARUBA TODAY

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SPORTS Tuesday 22 May 2018
Curry comes alive to score 35, Warriors rout Rockets by 41

By JANIE McCAULEY or more points. ... Golden
Associated Press State is 36-5 at home in
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — the playoffs since the 2015
Stephen Curry shook, shim- postseason. ... Thompson
mied and screamed, let- (1,786) moved past Rick
ting his adoring fans and Barry (1,776) for second
the Rockets know that Or- place on the Warriors' ca-
acle Arena was his house. reer postseason scoring list.
Once the two-time MVP ... Curry (712) moved past
got his groove back, Hous- Barry (699) into sole pos-
ton was helpless. session for most postseason
Curry scored 35 points baskets in franchise history.
with five 3-pointers, shoot- ... The "Run TMC" trio of Tim
ing over James Harden Hardaway, Mitch Rich-
and driving past him as mond and Chris Mullin were
the Golden State Warriors honored with a standing
made a second-half state- ovation during a first-quar-
ment to beat the Rockets ter timeout. On Monday,
126-85 on Sunday night for Richmond will introduce
a 2-1 lead in the Western Hardaway as he goes into
Conference finals. the Bay Area Sports Hall of
Curry had 18 points on Fame of which Richmond
7-for-7 shooting in the third and Mullin are already
quarter, lying with his back members.
flat on the court for his PAUL'S HEALTH
unique version of a snow Rockets coach Mike
angel and even following D'Antoni made the point
one basket with an exple- once again about Paul be-
tive, shouting "This is my ... ing healthy: "There's noth-
house!" to the thousands ing wrong at all."
who cheered and exhaled, "We're not going to win
exhilarated by his every without him," D'Antoni said.
move and rumble. "So if he's got to limp and
"There's obviously that an- drag his leg to the finish
ticipation when you come Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry celebrates after scoring against the Houston Rockets line, so be it. And he's ready
during the second half of Game 3 of the NBA basketball Western Conference Finals in Oakland,
in transition and you find Calif., Sunday, May 20, 2018. to do that."
an open look and there's Associated Press ORACLE AURA
a collective hush in the That deafening, bright yel-
crowd, especially in this ons got defensive — and his shot — after so many ploited it," Harden said. low sellout crowd was im-
building," Curry said. "It's a maybe a little mad — after questions about his per- Golden State began get- posing once again.
cool moment. I was search- a 127-105 Game 2 defeat ceived struggles so far ting the looks it liked af- "Somebody asked me, 'Is
ing for it in the first half. I had Wednesday night at Hous- this series — Curry noted, ter halftime. The Warriors Oracle tough to play?'
plenty of opportunities, I ton, determined to make "You've got to be your big- faced more stingy, in-the- Yeah, because the War-
just couldn't knock it down. stops to ignite the transition gest fan sometimes." face pressure from Hous- riors play here," D'Antoni
Third quarter it opened game and open up 3-point Under pressure from Paul, ton, making it hard to get said. "There's a certain en-
up. I've been doing it for a shooters. Curry swished a 3 from any early flow shooting. Du- ergy that their fans will give
while. I won't let two tough Especially Curry, who way back with 5:06 left in rant hit his first 3 6:27 before them and moments they hit
games shooting keep me snapped out of his slump the third. He struggled with halftime then missed from two or three 3s you can get
frustrated." with four in the second half. his long-range shot again the deep the next time a buzz going that helps the
The 41-point victory was the "I've seen those explosions early but drove through the down. home team. You just have
largest in franchise history happen everywhere, not paint at every chance. A moment of silence was to try to keep that crowd
during the postseason, top- just here," Green said. "His Curry hit a baseline 3-point- held before the national out as much as you can."q
ping a 39-point win — 85-46 3 is similar to some people's er at the 9:02 mark of the anthem for victims of the
— by the Philadelphia War- dunk. You go to certain first but missed his next five Houston school shooting.
riors against the St. Louis arenas and a guy gets a 3s before going 4 for 5 in TIP-INS
Bombers on April 6, 1948. dunk it's just absurd. That's the second half. He is now Rockets: Trevor Ariza and
Kevin Durant added 25 how his 3 ball is. ... Don't 7 of 25 from long range — Green received a double-
points, six rebounds and mean to disappoint, but he made one in each of technical with 6:49 to play
six assists, while Draymond I've seen crazier from him." the first two games. when Ariza shoved Green
Green grabbed 17 re- Harden had 20 points and "All it takes is one," Kerr said. as they traded words. ...
bounds to go with 10 points nine assists, while Chris Paul Both potent offenses were The Rockets surrendered 10
and six assists. The Warriors added 13 points and 10 re- slow getting rolling as the fast-break points in the first
won an NBA-record 16th bounds as they combined teams played strong de- period while getting none
consecutive home post- to shoot just 12 for 32. fense. of their own. ... They were
season game, surpassing Game 4 is Tuesday night at Harden and Paul began outrebounded 49-41, com-
the Chicago Bulls' mark of Oracle Arena. 3 for 14 with Paul missing mitted 19 turnovers and
15 in a row from April 27, Curry and Durant each six shots before getting his shot 32 for 81 from the floor.
1990-May 21, 1991. scored five quick points as first basket on goaltending Warriors: Kevon Looney
"We're in the middle of a Golden State opened the against Andre Iguodala had two key blocks off the
hell of a run, obviously," third quarter with a 10-0 2:39 before halftime. bench in the first. ... Durant
coach Steve Kerr said. burst to go ahead 64-43. "Offensively we didn't have notched his 20th straight
The defending champi- Of riding the emotion with any thrust, and they ex- postseason game with 20