Warriors Rout Rockets 126-85 In Game 3 To Lead Series [VIDEO]

After a brutal loss in Game 2, the Golden State Warriors rebounded to defeat the Houston Rockets 126-85 at home on Sunday night, thanks partly to a 35-point outburst from Stephen Curry.

Warriors Roll Past Rockets In Game 3

Curry’s 18 points in the third quarter were a team-high, and included two 3-pointers. He performed much better than in the first two playoff games, which marked his return from sitting out more than one month with a left ACL sprain.

The Rockets’ loss was their worst in franchise history. The defending champion Warriors lead the Western Conference Finals 2-1, with Game 4 set for Tuesday night in Oakland.

Backing Curry on Sunday were Kevin Durant and Draymond Greeen, who had 25 and 10 points respectively.

The Warriors’ Game 3 victory marked their biggest in postseason history, and also marked their 16th straight playoff win at Oracle Arena. This broke the record set by the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in 1990 and 1991.

James Harden powered Houston’s offense with 20 points and nine assists, although he appeared to vent about what he believed was officials’ failure to call fouls on the Warriors’ defense. Chris Paul added 13 points for the Rockets, while Eric Gordon, P.J. Tucker and Trevor Ariza all struggled to make significant contributions to the visitors’ offense.

Curry, 30, also told ESPN after Sunday’s game that although his mother was happy with how he played, she was not remotely pleased with a particular moment in the third quarter, when the two-time MVP ripped out his mouthpiece and yelled “This is my f—ing house!”

“She already sent me two home videos, showing me the clip and playing it back,” Curry told ESPN of his mother’s discontent with his foul language. “She was telling me how I need to wash my mouth out, saying to wash it out with soap. It’s a message I’ve heard before.”

According to the Houston Chronicle, Golden State Coach Steve Kerr praised the Rockets’ defense despite their embarrassing loss.

“Well, they do a ton of switching, like we do, and they’ve got a lot of guys who they may not be the Greek Freak [Giannis Antetokounmpo] or KD (Kevin Durant), but they’re good-sized guys with (Trevor) Ariza, (P.J.) Tucker, (Eric) Gordon, these guys are good, solid defenders, and they’ve eliminated a lot of holes in their defense from the past few years by adding more defenders, P.J. and (Luc) Mbah a Moute,” Kerr stated. “So they’ve made it tougher in the half court for sure, and they’ve done a really good job with their defense, and the stats show it.”

The Warriors are hoping to reach their fourth straight NBA Finals.