Golden State takes Game 1

The Golden State Warriors needed a big lift from their bench to down the Cleveland Cavaliers 104-89 in the NBA Finals opener in Oakland on Thursday.

With Warriors sharpshooters Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson going cold, Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala and Leandro Barbosa came through to spearhead a decisive 15-0 run at end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarter.

"I missed some shots and didn't get a rhythm, but the way that they defended, we'll be able to find some adjustments for Game Two. Not worried about that," said Curry, who settled for 11 points, two more than his backcourt team mate, Thompson.

"Just really proud of the way everybody contributed. You don't win championships without the entire squad coming in and making an impact on games."

In a rematch of last year's championship series, won by the Warriors in six games, LeBron James and the Cavaliers had taken the lead for the first time since the opening minute with a surge midway through the third quarter.

Livingston, who scored a playoff career-high 20 points, Iguodala (12) and Barbosa (11) picked up the slack for the defending champions, however, with the Warriors bench outscoring their Cleveland counterparts 45-10.

"This was a strange game for us," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "We're not use to having both Steph and Klay off like that with their shooting.

"But we've said all year that if we defend and take care of the ball we're going to have somebody score enough points, whether it's the starters or the bench.

"I thought we played great defense. We had nine turnovers total and that allowed us to control the game, and our bench obviously gave us a huge lift."

Livingston has played for nine different teams in his 14-year career but has found a home with the Warriors in the last two seasons.

"Steph and Klay, they're our guys," said the 30-year-old, whose team have now won four straight games since falling behind 3-1 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference final series.

"I think the series with [Oklahoma City] really prepared us for this series.

"It can be anybody on any given night. We just have to stay ready."

As well as a standout performance on offense, Iguodala helped limit James to 23 points and made the most of his knack of stripping opponents of the ball when in close.

"He's great at doing that, for sure," James said. "Just got to do a better job protecting the ball. It's that simple."

Game Two is in Oakland on Sunday. (Reporting by Tim Wharnsby, editing by Nick Mulvenney)

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No Curry, no worry as Warriors eliminate Rockets

The Golden State Warriors did not skip a beat without key point guard Stephen Curry, routing the Houston Rockets 114-81 on Wednesday to seal a 4-1 series triumph in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

The defending NBA champs will move on to face either the Portland Trail Blazers or Los Angeles Clippers.

If the Trail Blazers, up 3-2 in the series, can finish off the injury-ravaged Clippers at home on Friday, the Western semi-final best-of-seven would start on Sunday in Oakland.

The Warriors almost surely will be without Curry for most, if not all, of the second-round series after he sprained the medial collateral ligament in his right knee during Game 4 against the Rockets on Sunday.

Golden State improved to 4-2 without the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player by winning the series clincher against the Rockets, with veteran Shaun Livingston stepping into Curry's starting role and contributing 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting.

Ten of Livingston's points came on 4-for-4 shooting and a pair of free throws in the first quarter, during which the Warriors scored the first eight points and suffocated every Rocket not named James Harden en route to a 37-20 lead.

Harden had 18 points in the quarter, hitting six of eight shots. Meanwhile, his team mates never made a hoop in the 12 minutes, going 0-for-15 from the field and 0-for-7 from 3-point range.

Dwight Howard's two free throws provided the only Houston scoring other than by Harden in the period.

Harden finished with a game-high 35 points to go with six rebounds and a team-high six assists, but it was not nearly enough to overcome a balanced Warriors attack.

Klay Thompson led Golden State with 27 points, burying 10 of 14 shots and seven of 11 3-point attempts.

The Warriors finished 13-for-31 from beyond the arc, outscoring the Rockets 39-18 from long range despite taking two fewer attempts. Houston went 6-for-33 on 3-pointers, with Harden making three of seven tries.

Draymond Green contributed 15 points and team highs in rebounds (nine) and assists (eight) to the win, which was Golden State's 42nd in 44 home games this season.

Andre Iguodala had six points and six assists, and Brandon Rush was good for 15 points off the Warriors' bench.

Howard dominated the backboards with 21 rebounds. However, he missed 10 of 13 shots and finished with just eight points.

Houston's starters other than Harden shot a combined 8-for-33 and totaled 19 points.

Michael Beasley had 11 points off the Houston bench, but he got little help from the Rockets' reserve crew. The other Houston reserves combined to miss 21 of their 27 shots and totaled 16 points.

The Rockets shot just 32.3 percent from the field, including just 28.3 percent (13-for-46) in the first half while falling behind by as many as 22.

Golden State made 54.9 percent of its field-goal attempts.

The Warriors led by as many as 33 points in the third quarter and 34 late in the game. (Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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Warriors shrug off Curry absence to beat Rockets

With Stephen Curry out of action due to an ankle injury Monday night, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr was comforted knowing he had Shaun Livingston in reserve.

Oh, and the 2015 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player, too.

Livingston began and ended a key fourth-quarter spurt with baskets, and super-sub Andre Iguodala helped make up for Curry's lost firepower with four 3-pointers as the Warriors won a second straight from the Houston Rockets in their best-of-seven series, 115-106.

Golden State, now 2-0 in the postseason after a record-setting, 73-win regular season, was able to win without Curry, who injured his right ankle late in the second quarter of the Warriors' blowout win in Game 1 on Saturday. He had been listed as questionable for Game 2.

The reigning regular-season Most Valuable Player, who scored 24 points in just 20 minutes in Game 1, declared himself out shortly after cutting short a pregame warm-up that was designed to test the ankle.

"When you lost the MVP, you have concern," Kerr said. "But we believe in our depth and in our ability to win when we're down a man, even if it is Steph."

Curry's status for Game 3, which is scheduled for Thursday night in Houston, remains up in the air.

"We never want to put winning ahead of a player's career and his health," Kerr said. "We want to make sure Steph is right and his (ankle) is fine and healthy.

"Obviously, being up 2-0 does give us more cushion if we decide to sit him (in Game 3). But it will be based on his health, not the series score."

Livingston started in Curry's place and complemented guard Klay Thompson's 34 points with 16 of his own. He also found time for six assists in 29 minutes.

"He was playing so well, it was tough to take him out," Kerr said of Livingston. "His effort was fantastic."

Livingston's two biggest hoops came in an 11-1 flurry in the fourth quarter after the Rockets, trying to put Saturday's 26-point loss behind them, clung within 88-85 with 9:51 to play.

Livingston began the key run with a jumper, after which the Warriors made seven consecutive free throws, including five by Thompson.

Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff got nailed with a technical foul along the way, accounting for one of Thompson's foul shots.

Livingston then capped the burst with a fastbreak hoop that created the Warriors' biggest lead of the game to that point, 99-85, with 6:48 left.

"They do such a good job of capitalizing off your missed shots," said Rockets star James Harden, who missed a 4-footer that could have pulled Houston within one before Livingston began the run. "So it went from a three-point lead to six, seven, whatever ... and they just built on it. It's hard to recover from there."

Golden State was never threatened the rest of the way, beating Houston for a sixth consecutive meeting and the 14th time in their past 15 match-ups.

Thompson, hitting three 3-pointers and 15 of 16 from the free-throw line, led all scorers. He never attempted more than 12 foul shots nor made more than 10 all season.

Draymond Green had team highs in rebounds (14) and assists (eight) to go with 12 points, and Iguodala dropped seven of his 10 shots en route to 18 points for the Warriors, who shot 49.4 percent from the field and hit eight of their 23 3-point attempts.

Center Andrew Bogut also helped out with 10 points (on 5-for-6 shooting) and seven rebounds.

"You know, there is something to the slogan 'Strength in Numbers.' It's something we really do play by," Thompson said. "We always use it every night."

Harden led the Rockets with 28 points, 13 coming from the line on 15 free throws. However, he shot just 7-for-19 from the field, including 1-for-8 from 3-point range.

Harden, who also had 11 assists, thought a golden opportunity slipped away.

"For sure," he said of Curry's absence. "We played a little bit better (than Game 1) today. Just didn't play well enough to get a win."

Harden noted two key shortcomings: allowing 23 Warriors points after 19 turnovers, and giving up 13 offensive rebounds that produced 18 Golden State points.

Dwight Howard posted a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Rockets, who bettered Golden State in 3-pointers, making 10 of 25, but fell well short from shorter range, finishing at 44.3 percent overall.

"We like to take 3-point shots, and that hasn't changed," Bickerstaff said. "But at certain points in the game, we need to put pressure on the rim. We just have to be a little more patient."

Patrick Beverley and Jason Terry added 13 points apiece for the Rockets, who also will host Game 4 of the series on Sunday.

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.

An interior hoop by Warriors reserve guard Leandro Barbosa extended the lead back to 88-79 in the first minute of the fourth quarter. But as occurred all night, the Rockets wouldn't go away.

Harden hit a tough jumper and Terry added a hoop and two free throws to make it a three-point game.

However, each then missed interior attempts that could have sliced the deficit to one, and the Warriors followed with Livingston's hoops and a parade to the free-throw line, finally pushing the visitors an arm's length away.

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Warriors beat Thunder, tie consecutive home wins record

Stephen Curry turned an offensive rebound into a three-point play to highlight a 10-point, fourth-quarter spurt as the Golden State Warriors outlasted the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-106 to tie the all-time NBA record for consecutive home wins Thursday night.

The Warriors' second win over the Thunder in six days was their 44th in a row at Oracle Arena, allowing them to match the record set by the Chicago Bulls from March 30, 1995, to April 4, 1996.

The win also capped a three-game, season-series sweep for the Warriors (55-5) over the Thunder (42-20). Those games included a 121-118 Warriors win in overtime at Oklahoma City on Saturday.

As was the case last week, the Thunder held a fourth-quarter lead before the Warriors, who have recorded the best record in NBA history through 59 games, rallied.

The Warriors, who trailed by as many as nine in the third quarter and were down 83-82 entering the final period, took the lead for good on backup guard Shaun Livingston's two free throws in the first minute of the final quarter.

The advantage was just 99-97 before Draymond Green scored from the interior with 5:47 left, triggering the game-breaking, 10-0 run.

Curry's key play came after backcourt mate Klay Thompson had misfired on a 3-point attempt.

The NBA's reigning Most Valuable Player grabbed the rebound, circled back to the top of the key before changing directions and using an Andrew Bogut screen to get to the rim for a layup on which he was fouled.

His successful free throw completed the three-point play, pushing the Golden State lead to 106-97 and setting the stage for a runaway finish.

Curry finished with a game-high 33 points for the Warriors, who have won seven in a row. Almost half his points came on five 3-pointers, although it took him 15 attempts to get them.

Thompson added 21 points on 10-for-19 shooting, and Green contributed 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to Golden State's fifth consecutive home win over the Thunder.

Kevin Durant had 32 points and Russell Westbrook 22 for the Thunder, but each had more than his usual fair share of problems.

Durant, who also found time for 10 rebounds and nine assists, committed nine turnovers.

Westbrook, meanwhile, hit only eight of his 24 shots, including one of eight from 3-point range.

Serge Ibaka added 20 points for the Thunder, who were playing their second game in two nights.

The loss was the sixth in its past eight games for Oklahoma City, which blew a 22-point lead in their Wednesday defeat against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Warriors trailed 80-71 with 4:52 remaining in the third quarter before beginning a comeback by holding the Thunder to three points the rest of the period to get within 83-82.

Golden State then opened the fourth quarter with 13 points on its first six possessions to pull into a 95-87 lead. Backup center Marreese Speights had a 3-pointer in the run.

A three-point play by Westbrook at the 6:02 mark got the Thunder back within 99-97, before Golden State took command for good with its decisive spurt.

After a first half that featured 13 lead changes and 13 ties, the Thunder surged to its biggest lead of the game -- 80-71 -- on the strength of two third-quarter runs.

Ibaka had a hand in each.

He broke a 63-all tie with a pair of hoops, igniting a 7-2 burst that opened a 70-65 advantage with 7:48 remaining in the period.

After Golden State closed within one, the Thunder countered immediately with a 10-2 flurry, this one capped by an Ibaka 3-pointer that produced a nine-point lead at the 4:52 mark.

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