Warriors wallop Rockets 114-81 to advance to second round

OAKLAND - The postseason forecast remains as murky as Stephen Curry’s MRI image for the Warriors. But one thing became clear right away Wednesday night. With or without Curry, this team is more than a match for the Houston Rockets.

The Warriors hardly missed their superstar at Oracle Arena. They ran the court, set screens, played harassing team defense and enjoyed some remarkable shooting by guard Klay Thompson, cruising to a 114-81 win and sending the Rockets home after five games of this NBA first-round playoff series.

Next question: Where is Golden State headed now?

Perhaps Portland. The Trail Blazers wrapped up their own Game 5 win about 40 minutes before Golden State on Wednesday, going up 3 games to 2 over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Blazers can wrap up their series at home Friday. In this twisting, turning NBA postseason, though, nothing is certain - except that the Warriors will get at least a couple more days of rest than their next opponent.

That won’t do much to accelerate Curry’s return to the court. But the downtime is welcome news to his Warriors teammates, who get some time to rest their bodies, and to the team’s coaches, who can fine-tune their Curry-less strategies.

“I think it’s good, obviously going into the next series, which will be more difficult,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s good to have a few games under our belt without Steph so we get a feel for it. The rotation is much different, obviously. And the way we play is a little bit different. We just don’t have the fireworks that Steph provides.”

Curry watched the game from the Warriors bench, frequently leaping to his feet to cheer on his teammates despite the sprained knee that is expected to keep him out of action for at least two weeks.

By winning, the Warriors avoided 7½ hours of plane travel to and from Houston, not to mention a fired-up crowd at the Toyota Center and, potentially, a dicey resolution to the series.

The rudderless Rockets showed some brief fight right after halftime Wednesday, scoring the first five points of the third quarter. Then Thompson took over, sticking four 3-pointers in a span of 3 minutes, 19 seconds and helping push Golden State’s lead to 31 points.

Really, though, this one was over after a quarter. Rockets coach J.B. Bickerstaff was forced to call time out just 1:14 into the game, following consecutive 3-pointers by Thompson and Draymond Green. After Houston steadied the ship a bit, the Warriors had a 19-14 lead about halfway through the quarter.

But Shaun Livingston, filling in for Curry at point guard, hit a floating 10-footer. A little later, Thompson stole a pass and banked a layup at the other end. Then Thompson made a nifty pass under the basket to Livingston. Then the All-Star nailed a 3-pointer from behind a screen. And Ian Clark finished a 3-on-2 fast break after a James Harden turnover. And Green blasted a 3-pointer as the crowd erupted.

By that time, the clock read 1:12 and the Warriors’ lead was 35-16. It was a 16-2 run from which the Rockets would never recover.

With Curry’s injury putting a damper on the Warriors’ mood, they got some relief by facing one of their favorite patsies. Golden State has now won 16 of its past 18 games against Houston, including an 8-2 mark in the past two postseasons.

Wednesday’s win came 11 months to the day after the Warriors had dispatched the Rockets in another Game 5. That one was in the Western Conference Finals.

Thompson finished with 27 points, hit 7 of 11 attempts from the 3-point line and became the first person in NBA history to make at least seven 3-pointers in consecutive postseason games. That’s right, not even Curry has done that.

“Klay had one of those games where you sense it coming,” Kerr said. “He makes one and you can kind of see it in his eyes. I thought Klay had a fantastic series, despite the fact that he didn’t shoot the ball particularly well early in the series. He was moving without the ball so beautifully, cutting behind the defense. Even when you don’t make shots, if you’re taking the defense with you like that, and forcing people to react and adjust, you’re helping your teammates out.”

Livingston added 16 points, and Green just missed a triple-double with 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

The Rockets, meanwhile, shot a dismal 32.3 percent from the field, including 18.2 percent (6 of 33) from the arc.

Not every Rocket was stinking up Oracle. Harden once again showed his amazing offensive repertoire. In the first quarter, he was 6 of 8 with 18 points; the rest of his team was 0 for 15 with two points. The All-Star guard finished with 35 points.

Before the game, Bickerstaff was asked if he expected his team to play with passion, frequently an issue for the Rockets. “I expect a ton of energy. I expect a fire beneath them,” he said. “Because we’re not ready to go home.”

As it turns out, they were. And the Warriors are ready to stay home, for a few days at least.

You can reach Staff Writer Phil Barber at 521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com.