THE defending NBA titlist Golden State Warriors are up, 3-1, in their best-of-seven Western Conference first-round matchup against the faction-infested Houston Rockets following their 121-94 Game Four victory at the Toyota Center built around an all-time NBA single-game record of 21 three-pointers.
But the win came at great cost as the Dubs’ star guard and NBA scoring king Stephen Curry suffered a right knee sprain – his second injury in the series – in the late seconds of the first half (56-all halftime score) when he slipped on a wet spot on the floor. He scored just six points on 2-of-9 field shooting (including 1-of-7 from beyond the arc), dished out five assists and committed five turnovers in 19 minutes following a two-game layoff.
For the first time since its NBA championship finish a year ago, Golden State has to deal with health issues by a top-tier player. The Warriors proudly declare there’s “Strength in Numbers) but any injury to Curry, Klay Thompson or energetic triple-double machine Draymond Green in the ongoing playoffs could jeopardize their title-retention bid and put to waste their scintillating league record-setting 73-9 mark during the regulars.
Curry, who is a cinch for the Maurice Podoloff (regular-season) MVP award for the second year in a row – perhaps as the first-ever unanimous selection since the award’s inception in 1955-56 (the award was based on the vote of NBA players until 1979-80 and by the writers and broadcasters since 1980-81 – sprained his right ankle (a bothersome body part since his early NBA days) just before halftime of Game One at the Oracle Arena.
The 6-foot-3, 28-year-old Curry, subsequently sat out Game Two (a Warriors’ 115-106 success behind Curry’s Splash Brother mate Thompson’s 34 points and five assists) and Game Three (a Rockets’ 97-96 home win on James Harden’s 10-foot step-back jumper with 2.7 seconds to play, a shot that the NBA later declared should not have counted since The Beard initiated contact with the Warriors’ Andre Iguodala, the 2015 Finals MVP).
Curry will undergo an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) test on Monday (Tuesday, Manila time) and depending on the results, he could be sidelined for the remainder of the series against the Rockets or even shut down for the remainder of the playoffs.
The Warriors host Game Five on April 27 (April 28 MT). Game Six, if necessary, will be held in Houston on April 29 (April 30 MT). Teams that take a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven emerge victorious in the series 96 percent of the time. The Rockets are 2-9 in franchise history when behind 3-1 in a best-of-seven duel.
Should Golden State finish off Houston, it would take on the winner of the 4-seed Los Angeles Clippers vs. 5-seed Portland Trail Blazers series in the second segment of the Western playoffs. The Clippers own a 2-1 advantage over the Blazers entering Game Four Tuesday (Manila time) at Portland’s Moda Center.
The road to a second straight NBA championship becomes even more torturous as the Warriors could be playing another title contender in San Antonio in the Western Conference finals granting both teams advance that far.
The Spurs, who have the second-best record in the NBA at an all-time franchise-best 67-15, became the first team to advance to the second round with a 4-0 sweep of injury-plagued and seventh-seeded Memphis following SA’s series-clinching 116-95 triumph Monday (Manila time) behind back-to-back NBA Defensive Player of the Year awardee Kawhi Leonard’s 21 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
In the second round, San Antonio will meet the winner of the third-seed Oklahoma City vs. six-seed Dallas series. The Thunder own a 3-1 edge over the Mavericks and look to clinch the series at home on April 25 (April 26 MT).
Out in the East, top-seeded Cleveland became the second team to register a four-game first-round sweep after blasting eight-seeded Detroit, 100-98, in Game Four on Monday (MT) at the Pistons’ home floor, The Palace of Auburn Hills, behind Kyrie Irving’s 31 points and five assists, LeBron James’ 22 points, 11 rebounds and six assists and Kevin Love’s 11 scores and 13 boards.
The Cavs, the losing NBA finalists a year ago, will next take on the winner of the No. 4 seed Atlanta vs. No. 5 Boston matchup. The Hawks and Celtics are all tied up at 2-2 entering Game Five Wednesday (MT) at the Philips Arena in Atlanta. All four games in the series so far have gone to the home team.
At the friendly TD Garden, pint-sized Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas netted a career playoff-high 42-point performance during a 111-103 Game Three win and followed it up with a 28-point, six-assist effort in a 104-95 Game Four overtime success on Monday (MT) while bucking Hawks forward Paul Millsap’s career playoff-high 45 points and 13 rebounds.
Second-seeded Toronto and seventh-seeded Indiana also are deadlocked at 2-2 in their series going into Game Five on Wednesday (MT) at the Air Canada Centre. Each team has won once on enemy territory – the Pacers in Game One and the Raptors in Game Three.
The winner of the Raptors-Pacers series will advance against the winner of the No. 3 seed
Miami vs. No. 6 Charlotte duel.
The Heat are ahead of the Hornets, 2-1, in the series that saw the home team capture the first three contests. Miami grabbed the first two games but Charlotte came back to secure a 96-80 victory in Game Three to break a 12-game playoff losing streak and earn The Hive their first postseason win in 14 years.
The Hornets look to equalize the series when they host Game Four on Tuesday (MT).
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