Golden State Warriors eliminate Houston Rockets despite Steph Curry's absence
Last Updated: 28/04/16 8:20am
The Golden State Warriors shrugged off the absence of the injured Steph Curry with an emphatic 114-81 victory over the Houston Rockets to book their place in the second round of the Western Conference play-offs.
The Warriors lost Curry after he suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament during Game Four against Houston on Sunday.
However the reigning NBA champions dispelled the gloom as they routed the Rockets to complete a 4-1 series victory over the Texas outfit.
The Warriors will now play either the Portland Trail Blazers or the injury-ravaged Los Angeles Clippers in the next round, with the opening game in the best-of-seven series set for Sunday.
Curry is likely to miss all of that series as he struggles to recover from his knee injury.
The star point guard's place in the starting line-up was taken by veteran Shaun Livingston and the 30-year-old scored 16 points with seven-for-eight shooting against the Rockets.
The template for the game was set early in the first quarter, with the Warriors jumping out to a 37-20 lead that they never looked like relinquishing.
Rockets star James Harden had 18 points in the quarter but his team-mates never made a hoop in 12 minutes, with the only other Houston points coming from Dwight Howard's two free throws.
Harden top scored with 35 points, six rebounds and six assists, but it was not enough against the Warriors all-round game.
Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 27 points, including seven of 11 three-point attempts.
Draymond Green added 15 points with nine rebounds and eight assists.
The Trail Blazers lead the Clippers 3-2 in their first-round series after claiming a 108-98 victory in Game Five at the Staples Center.
CJ McCollum scored 27 points for Portland, while Damian Lillard bagged 16 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter against the Clippers who were without Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.
In the Eastern Conference, the Charlotte Hornets notched their third straight win as they defeated the Miami Heat 90-88 to take a 3-2 lead in their first-round series.
