OAKLAND, UNITED STATES – The Golden State Warriors shrugged off the absence of Stephen Curry to cruise past the Houston Rockets 115-106 and take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven series on Monday.
Curry was ruled out shortly before tip-off after failing a pre-game fitness test at the Oracle Arena.
However, any hope Houston had of exploiting Curry’s absence was ruthlessly snuffed out by the Warriors, with Klay Thompson stepping up to weigh in with 34 points.
The emphatic win followed Golden State’s 104-78 drubbing of the Rockets in game one.
Houston must now win one of the two upcoming home games on Thursday or Sunday to keep the series alive.
Curry, struggling with a sore ankle after game one, waved and rallied the crowd from courtside after being ruled out.
The Warriors barely needed any encouragement, however, as they maintained their dominance from Saturday’s opener.
Thompson added five assists to go with his points haul while Andre Iguodala chipped in with 18 points. Draymond Green finished with 12 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists.
James Harden was the main attacking conduit for Houston, finishing with 28 points and 11 assists to top the Rockets scoring.
