Curry, Golden State rout Houston to take 3-0 lead

HOUSTON — Stephen Curry scored 40 points and Golden State Warriors made it look easy against Houston, beating Rockets 115-80 on Saturday night to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

Warriors won the first two games by just five points combined. There would be no such drama in this one, with Curry leading them to a 26-point advantage in the second quarter.

Now the baby-faced MVP has Golden State just one victory away from its first trip to the NBA Finals since 1975. Game 4 is Monday night in Houston.

“We understand it’s a special moment, it’s just we’re wrapped up in our day to day grind of preparing for games and going out and exerting all the effort we need to make this story happen,” Curry said. “So it’s kind of hard to remove yourself from those emotions.”

Curry was unstoppable, making seven three pointers to break the NBA record for most three pointers in the play-offs in a season with 64.

MVP runner-up James Harden finished with 17 points behind 10-of-11 free-throw shooting, but made just 3 of 16 shots as Rockets dropped three straight for the first time all season.

Dwight Howard, who played despite a knee injury suffered in Game 1, had 14 points and 14 rebounds.

Houston rebounded from a 3-1 deficit in the conference semifinals to beat the Clippers and move on. No team in NBA history has won a series after falling behind 3-0.

“We just can’t quit on each other,” Howard said. “We’ve come too far. We’ve been through too many battles to just allow it to end like tonight... we’ve just got to man up.”

Draymond Green and Klay Thompson added 17 points apiece for the Warriors.

Curry had 37 points after three quarters and went to the bench for good with about five-and-a-half minutes remaining after his seventh three pointer made it 103-73. He also had seven rebounds and five assists.

After coach Steve Kerr complained about turnovers in the last game, Warriors had just one before halftime to help them run away with this one early.

Rockets have rebounded from double-digit deficits in three of their eight wins this postseason, but this time they fell into a hole way too big to overcome. Especially when Harden’s shots weren’t falling.

Warriors were in control of this one from the start and were up by 12 at the end of the first. But things got out of hand quickly when Curry heated up.

A pair of free throws by Harden cut the lead to nine points with about 6 minutes left in the quarter when Curry took over. He scored the next six points as part of a 16-5 run where he scored all but two of Warriors points to push the lead to 54-34.

Curry broke the record for three pointers in the playoffs on a long one from the top of the key that put Golden State up 49-32 about four-and-a-half minutes before halftime. Reggie Miller set the previous mark of 58 in 2000.

Warriors led by 25 at halftime and Houston opened the third quarter strong, using a 13-6 spurt to get within 68-50. Thompson made a free throw after that before Curry took control once again, scoring the next five points, including a three pointer under heavy pressure, to push it to 75-50 midway through the third quarter.

He wrapped up the third quarter in much the same way, scoring Golden State’s last five points, capped by a 3-pointer to make it 92-61 entering the fourth quarter.

Howard was the only positive for Rockets in the first half and he had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Harden made just one of eight shots in the first half, but had eight points after making all six of his free throws.

Warriors led 30-18 at the end of the first quarter behind 10 points from Australian Andrew Bogut.