The Golden State Warriors’ title hopes flashed before their eyes when MVP point guard Stephen Curry leapt to block a shot and tumbled over Rockets forward Trevor Ariza onto his head. Curry laid on the floor for several minutes while moving minimally before walking to the locker room on his own power.
The Curry fall symbolized the night Golden State had trying to close out the hard-to-kill Rockets. Up 3-0 in the series the Warriors were cold to start while the Rockets were shooting the lights out. MVP candidate James Harden turned in a Curry-like performance to lead the way, notching 45 points, nine rebounds and five assists. He also drilled 7-of-11 from beyond the arc.
The Rockets’ first quarter was enough to do in the Warriors. They outscored Golden State 45-22 in the first 12 minutes, causing head coach Steve Kerr to be so frustrated he took out his anger in a testy sideline interview that would bring a smile to Gregg Popovich’s face.
That Vine doesn’t catch Kerr’s answer to a follow-up question about how they could rectify the issues with their defense. Kerr might as well have had steam pouring out of his ears as he said “We just gave up 45 points in 12 minutes. We have a lot of problems.”
Luckily one of those problems won’t be missing Curry. The MVP passed all the concussion protocols and returned to the game in the third quarter. While he helped Golden State get back within striking distance several times, they were simply unable to contain Harden or Dwight Howard, who put up a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
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