OAKLAND , United States (AFP) — The Golden State Warriors shrugged off the injury absence of Stephen Curry to crush the Houston Rockets 114-81 and book their place in the next round of the Western Conference playoffs on Wednesday.
The Warriors season has been plunged into uncertainty after Curry suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament during Game Four against Houston on Sunday.
However the reigning NBA champions dispelled the gloom with an emphatic rout of the Rockets to complete a 4-1 series victory over the Texas outfit.
The Warriors will now play either the Portland Trail Blazers or the injury-ravaged Los Angeles Clippers in the next round, with the opening game in the best-of-seven series set for Sunday.
Curry is likely to miss all of that series as he struggles to recover from his knee injury.
The star point guard’s place in the starting line-up was taken by veteran Shaun Livingston on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old scored 16 points with seven-for-eight shooting in Wednesday’s win.
The template for the game was set early in the first quarter, with the Warriors jumping out to a 37-20 lead that they never looked like relinquishing.
Rockets star James Harden had 18 points in the quarter but his teammates never made a hoop in 12 minutes, with the only other Houston points coming from Dwight Howard’s two free throws.
Harden top scored with 35 points, six rebounds and six assists, but it was not enough against the Warriors all-round game.
Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 27 points, including seven of 11 three-point attempts.
Draymond Green added 15 points with nine rebounds and eight assists.
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