Stephen Curry, Warriors Whip Up On Rockets in 3rd Game of Western Conference Finals

Golden State’s Stephen Curry broke out for a huge second half in a blowout win of the Houston Rockets in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals on Sunday. (Credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Stephen Curry was on his way to two days of online debate about what was wrong with his game. Curry, the two-time winner of the N.B.A.’s Most Valuable Player Award, looked tentative and lost. His shots were not falling, he was being exposed badly on defense, and his team was winning in spite of him rather than because of him.

Then came a transcendent third quarter on Sunday in which Curry looked positively Steph Curry-like. He made all seven of his shots, two of which were long 3-pointers, and finished the quarter with a team-high 18 points, matching his highest point total in the first two games of the Western Conference finals in a single period.

The quarter, in which the Warriors’ lead over the Houston Rockets swelled from 11 to 21 points, was part of a 35-point effort by Curry in Golden State’s eventual 126-85 victory that made an emphatic statement on the heels of Golden State having lost badly in Game 2. Golden State, which effectively stole home court advantage in the series with a Game 1 win in Houston, now has a 2-1 lead in the series, with two of the next three games coming at home.

“It’s what I expected to do,” Curry said in an on-court interview with TNT’s David Aldridge. “My approach to every game is you don’t get too high on the highs and you don’t get too low on the lows.”

He added, “I was obviously happy to hit some shots tonight — eventually.”

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SOURCE: Benjamin Hoffman
The New York Times