This is a continuation of the halftime recap of the Golden State Warriors at the Houston Rockets, Game 4 of the 2016 NBA Playoffs, Round 1.
Stephen Curry was listed as “available” for the second half despite the injury, but did not start the second half, going back to the locker room after coming out to test his injury. Shaun Livingston started in his place.
Patrick Beverley, who left with an injury earlier in the second quarter, did not start the second half. Jason Terry started in his place.
3rd Quarter – Raining Threes Without Steph
Draymond Green got the Warriors off to a great start with a three-pointer from the top, then after Donatas Motiejunas and Harrison Barnes traded trips to the free throw line, Andrew Bogut picked Dwight Howard in the post, Klay Thompson was left open from the top of the arc, and Bogut delivered as Thompson even had time to make sure his feet were properly set.
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That gave the Warriors a 64-57 lead with 10:15 remaining as Rockets head coach J.B. Bickerstaff took a timeout.
Out of the timeout, Motiejunas got a jump hook, Green lost the ball on what he felt was a foul by Harden, and Bogut had to foul Harden to stop the break. It was Bogut’s fourth personal.
Bogut’s fifth came on the next possession as he couldn’t resist the wrist slap on Motiejunas at the rim while trying to simultaneously fend off Howard from the offensive board. Kerr subbed in Festus Ezeli.
Both teams traded buckets as Draymond hit two triples on catches on the left wing, while the Rockets answered with threes from Motiejunas and Harden.
But the Warriors got a big spark as Harden missed another try from beyond the arc, Livingston outlet to Thompson, who threw a touchdown pass for a dunk to Green, prompting another Bickerstaff timeout. Meanwhile, Livingston stepped into Howard’s path on the outlet, and the collision led to a referee’s replay review.
During the review, the TV broadcast confirmed that Curry would not return the game, out officially with a “sprained ankle”. Meanwhile, Livingston and Howard were issued a double technical.
After the lull in the play, Harden got a stepback over Thompson, but Klay responded with two triples…
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…both assisted by Livingston. Bickerstaff burned another timeout as the Warriors stretched their lead to 80-67 with 6:08 left.
But the salvos from afar continued, as Barnes hit a triple from the right side, Livingston got an “and-one” jumper to swish even as he attracted contact from Terry…
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…and Klay hit another three on Livingston’s fifth assist, which pushed the Golden State lead to 89-74.
Kerr took a timeout after Harden turned a miss on the left baseline by Livingston into a long two from the corner by Corey Brewer, with 2:27 remaining.
Kerr inserted Marreese Speights and it paid immediate dividends as he got a tip of a missed three by Draymond and it fell into Andre Iguodala’s hands for an easy dunk with no one contesting.
After a Michael Beasley miss, Iguodala got a reverse touchdown layup via Green’s rebound, then later Harden missed a three and Speights sent a touchdown to Draymond for a dunk…
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…and the Warriors grew their lead to 97-76 with 18 seconds remaining and the Rockets yielded several uncontested buckets.
Beasley missed at the buzzer and Green snagged the rebound emphatically, an example of Golden State completely wrestled control of the game, scoring 41 points in the third:
Warriors balled out in the 3rd quarter. 41 points, 8 3s pic.twitter.com/oQauepzGer
— KNBR (@KNBR) April 24, 2016
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4th Quarter – Another Record
To start the fourth quarter, Ariza hit a bank shot, Harden, Barbosa and Barnes missed shots then Ian Clark splashed home a three pointer. Ariza missed a three, Iguodala hit a running layup then Howard connected on two free throws.
Andre Iguodala continued his strong play by hitting from deep. Howard made a layup but the lead was at 23 in the Warriors’ favour with 8:12 left. The Rockets waived the white flag as Ariza and Harden checked out. Livingston checked out and so did Iguodala who then got to “enjoy” this strange massage from the Warriors’ trainer…
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…Howard missed two free throws, Livingston found Speights for a mid range jumper, Terry hit a shot then Harrison Barnes got a turnaround shot to go.
Barbosa made a jump shot, his first field goal of the night then Speights blocked Brewer’s jump shot. The Rockets scored five points then the Warriors went on a 7-0 run – Barbosa got a layup, Green found Livingston on the baseline for the dunk and Leandro Barbosa splashed home a three.
Rush then joined the splash party which extended the Warriors’ lead to 31 with 2:38 to go. Both teams continued to exchange missed shots before the Rockets got a couple of late buckets. Rush then dribbled the clock out and the Warriors took a 3-1 advantage in the best of 7 series.
Final: Warriors (3-1), 121-94.
The Warriors broke the record for most threes made in a playoff game with 21. Klay had 23 points, Iguodala has 22 points, Draymond finished with 18-8-6 and Barnes chipped in with 12.
Dubs WIN! #StrengthInNumbers pic.twitter.com/KimxE5WUyj
— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) April 24, 2016
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(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via @warriors)
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