By Diamond Leung / San Jose Mercury News
HOUSTON—After Stephen Curry fell and hit his head on the court, he was down for a few minutes and then remained in the locker room for about a quarter before making his return.
The Warriors’ comeback, on the other hand, fell short. The Houston Rockets staved off elimination with a 128-115 win on Monday in Game Four of the Western Conference finals, sending the series back to Oakland with the Warriors leading 3-1.
Forty years to the day after the Warriors won their last National Basketball Association (NBA) championship, advancing to the NBA Finals wasn’t to be, as Rockets star James Harden scored 45 points. The Rockets seized control of the game with a hot start and led by as many as 25 points.
Then Curry was upended as he leaped to defend a shot and surrounded by his concerned teammates after his hard landing. He hit a three-pointer to cut the Houston lead to 104-98 with 8:24 left, but Harden responded with seven straight points to start the Rockets’ 10-0 run.
The Warriors got no closer than that despite Curry and Klay Thompson hitting six three-pointers apiece. Harden answered with seven shots from long distance.
Thompson finished with 24 points, while Curry had 23 and Draymond Green added 21 points and 15 rebounds before fouling out.
The Rockets throttled the Warriors in the first quarter and took a 45-22 lead. The Warriors surrendered the most points of any quarter this season.
Houston raced out to a 12-0 lead as the Warriors missed their first five field goals and committed two turnovers in that stretch.
Josh Smith scored 13 of his 20 points in the quarter, making all three three-point attempts. A three-pointer from Harden pushed the lead to 20. The Rockets finished the quarter 17-for-22 from the field, including eight-for-nine from three-point range.
Then the Warriors experienced their scariest moment of the season. Curry, the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, was injured after going for a Trevor Ariza head fake and falling head over heels. The fall caused Curry’s head to hit the court, and according to the team, he suffered a contusion.
Coach Steve Kerr joined Curry’s teammates and medical personnel in surrounding the point guard who was down near the baseline. In the crowd, his wife and mother locked arms and held hands. Curry was eventually helped to the locker room as the Warriors trailed, 55-36, with 5:52 left in the first half.
An emotional Warriors team in his absence proceeded to start a comeback with Curry out of action, as Thompson, who struggled mightily on both ends of the court to start the game, stepped forward.
Thompson drained four three-pointers in the next four minutes before halftime as the Warriors rallied to cut the deficit to 69-59.
When Curry returned to the game with 5:58 left in the third, he air-balled his first shot and then had a three-point attempt blocked. He finished seven-for-18 from the field, including six-for-13 from three-point range, in 30 minutes.
Harden was 13-for-22 from the field, going seven-for-11 from three-point range and adding nine rebounds and five assists.
The Rockets shot 56.6 percent from the field and scored 27 fast-break points.
Image credits: AP