(Photo credit: USA TODAY Sports via Reuters/Kelley L Cox)
The least-heralded member of the "Hamptons 5," Warriors swingman Andre Iguodala has been ruled as doubtful for Game 4. Iguodala sustained a bruised left knee in a collision with Rockets guard James Harden in the fourth quarter of Golden State's 126-85 thrashing of Houston on Sunday night.
Iguodala is the best perimeter defender of Golden State's vaunted "Death" lineup as both he and center Draymond Green do much of the dirty work on that end of the court while still making contributions offensively. Iguodala had ten points, three assists and three steals Sunday when the defending champs took a 2-1 series lead, and pending an X-ray, the 2015 NBA Finals MVP could be upgraded.
That was the only downbeat note for the Warriors, who got a breakout game from Stephen Curry as he scored a playoff-season high of 35 points, eclipsing his combined total from the first two games of this conference final. Curry scored 18 of his points in a dominant third quarter, hitting all seven of his shots from the field when Golden State expanded an 11-point halftime lead to 21 before pouring it on in the fourth quarter.
Kevin Durant added 25 points and Green added ten points, 17 rebounds and six assists as the Warriors racked up 23 fast-break points and outscored the Rockets 28-10 in points off turnovers after forcing Houston into 20 turnovers while committing just eight.
Harden finished with 20 points and nine rebounds as Houston suffered their worst playoff loss in franchise history and shot 39.5 percent. The Rockets also made just 11 of 34 from 3-point range after connecting on 29 of 79 from beyond the arc in splitting the first two games at home.
The series will shift back to Houston for Game 5 on Thursday night.