Curry Leads Warriors; Thunder and Nuggets Clinch Crucial Wins

Stephen Curry exploded for 36 points to lead the Golden State Warriors past the Houston Rockets, 104-93, on Saturday night and secure a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference first-round playoff series at Chase Center in San Francisco.

The Warriors rallied despite missing Jimmy Butler III, who was ruled out before the game with a glute contusion sustained in Game 2.

Buddy Hield nailed five three-pointers for a majority of his 17 points, while rookie Quinten Post grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds in his first playoff start for Golden State.

After trailing for much of the first half and scoring just 22 points in the opening 18 minutes, the Warriors closed the second quarter on a 9-0 run to cut Houston’s lead to 49-46 at halftime.

Dillon Brooks briefly put the Rockets ahead 84-83 with 5:47 left, but Gary Payton II, who went scoreless in Game 2, delivered a personal nine-point run that turned the tide.

Payton, with his Hall of Fame father in attendance, drove for a layup, drained a three-pointer, and finished a dunk to give Golden State a 92-86 cushion with 3:42 to go.

Curry sealed the win with his fifth three-pointer of the night, marking the 60th 30-point postseason game of his career, and also logged seven rebounds and nine assists.

Golden State outshot Houston from beyond the arc, 42-33, with Curry and Hield each connecting on five triples.

Draymond Green added seven points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals, and three blocks, while Brandin Podziemski chipped in 10 points.

Fred VanVleet paced the Rockets with 17 points, while Brooks, Jabari Smith Jr., and Amen Thompson combined for 36 points.

In other Western Conference action, the Oklahoma City Thunder completed a first-round sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies with a narrow 117-115 win at FedExForum.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander torched Memphis for 38 points, while Jalen Williams contributed 23 and Isaiah Hartenstein tallied 11 points and 12 rebounds for Oklahoma City.

Scotty Pippen Jr. led the undermanned Grizzlies with 30 points and 11 rebounds but fouled out in the final minute as Memphis fell without star Ja Morant, who suffered a hip contusion in Game 3.

Despite blowing a 29-point lead in Game 3, the Thunder survived a close battle Saturday, fending off a late Grizzlies surge that trimmed their lead to two points with eight seconds remaining.

Williams hit a clutch free throw to give the Thunder a 117-114 edge before Desmond Bane’s free throw trimmed the final margin.

Oklahoma City, the top seed in the West, will face the winner of the Los Angeles Clippers-Denver Nuggets series.

Meanwhile, Aaron Gordon’s last-second dunk lifted the Nuggets to a thrilling 101-99 win over the Clippers at Crypto.com Arena, leveling their series at 2-2.

Nikola Jokic airballed a three-pointer as time expired, but Gordon caught the miss and slammed it home just before the buzzer, a play upheld after video review.

“You could say it was a lucky play but Aaron is a big athletic man,” Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said.

Jokic finished with 36 points, 21 rebounds, and eight assists to help Denver rebound from a 34-point loss in Game 3.

Kawhi Leonard tallied 24 points and Norman Powell added 22 for Los Angeles, who staged a furious rally from a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit.

“This was really big for us,” Gordon said. “We did what we came here to do and that was get homecourt advantage back.”

Game 5 is set for Tuesday in Denver.

In the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers powered past the Miami Heat 124-87 to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.

Despite missing Darius Garland due to a toe injury, Cleveland rode a balanced attack led by Jarrett Allen’s 22 points and 10 rebounds.

De’Andre Hunter stepped up with 21 points off the bench, including 16 in the first half, while Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley scored 19.

“Phenomenal on both ends of the ball and on the glass,” Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome said of Hunter.

Miami started strong but faltered as Cleveland answered with an 18-0 first-quarter run and never looked back.

Bam Adebayo scored 22 points for Miami, but the Heat struggled to find consistent offense beyond Davion Mitchell and Tyler Herro.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra called for more from Andrew Wiggins, who finished with just 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting, saying, “He has to be assertive, has to be aggressive.”

The Cavaliers can complete a sweep with a Game 4 victory.