Thompson leads Curry-less Warriors past Rockets in Game 2
Head coach Steve Kerr urged him to “channel his inner Reggie Miller” in moving without the ball.
The Houston Rockets didn’t have to worry about Curry, who missed the game with a sore right ankle.
[...] they got an extra dose of Thompson, who scored 34 points to lead the Warriors to a 115-106 victory in Game 2 of this first-round playoff series
Andre Iguodala came off the bench to add 18 points, Shaun Livingston scored 16 and Draymond Green provided 12 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists.
Curry’s absence reduced the “wow” factor for another energized, gold-clad capacity crowd at Oracle Arena.
The Warriors looked sharp at times, with Thompson attacking the basket and Iguodala draining three-pointers and Marreese Speights doing his Mo Buckets thing (nine points).
Among the key plays were Houston head coach J.B. Bickerstaff drawing a technical foul after complaining to the refs all night; and Green feeding Livingston on the fastbreak to make the score 99-86.
The Rockets also played actual defense for stretches of the third quarter.
Curry clearly was antsy; he vanished for one stretch, then returned and sat in the second row alongside injured rookie Kevon Looney.
From the outset, Monday night’s game was dramatically different than Saturday’s playoff opener — and not just because Curry was in street clothes.
Harden also rediscovered his familiar route to the free-throw line.
Harden easily led the NBA in free-throw attempts this season, averaging 10.2 per game, but he took exactly zero free throws Saturday.
Monday night, Harden resurrected his herky-jerky, pump-fake moves and lured Warriors players into reaching fouls.