NBA Playoffs: Warriors vs. Rockets Game 2 recap, full highlights

Without Stephen Curry, the Warriors rolled past Houston to take a 2-0 series lead to start the 2016 NBA Playoffs

When the Houston Rockets first heard that the Golden State Warriors were going to be sitting out point guard and reigning MVP Stephen Curry for Game 2 on Monday night, fans, players, and coaches alike had to be salivating and thinking that this would be their best (and possibly only) opportunity to steal a game from the Warriors in ORACLE Arena. However, it turned out that wouldn’t be an easy task for Houston with or without Curry on the floor.

The Rockets certainly fought valiantly against the Warriors, especially in contrast to how handily Golden State laid the hammer down on them on Saturday in Game 1 at ORACLE. In fact, Houston hung with the Warriors for the majority of the first half and this game certainly had the looks of one that was ready to go down to the wire.

Near the end of the first half, though, Klay Thompson started heating up a bit against the Rockets as the away team predictably seemed less than interested in giving ample effort on the defensive end of the floor. That flurry gave the Warriors a bit of a larger cushion and a lead to nurse at halftime and in the second half.

In that second half, the Warriors simply plaid like champions as they protected their lead, played good defense, and just tried not to make any costly mistakes. Houston admirably kept trying to land punches on Golden State, but they were too far behind at that point. In the end, the Warriors prevailed even without Steph in the lineup.

Three Stars

Klay Thompson, Warriors – 34 points, five assists, three rebounds
Draymond Green, Warriors – 12 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists
James Harden, Rockets – 28 points, 11 assists

Highlights

Next Game

These two teams will be back at it on Thursday night for Game 3 in Houston.

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