Warriors hang on behind Curry's 33

Houston Rockets guard James Harden (center) loses the ball on the game’s final play as he drives against Golden State Warriors guards Stephen Curry (left) and Klay Thompson during Thursday’s game in Oakland, Calif. The Warriors won 99-98.
Houston Rockets guard James Harden (center) loses the ball on the game’s final play as he drives against Golden State Warriors guards Stephen Curry (left) and Klay Thompson during Thursday’s game in Oakland, Calif. The Warriors won 99-98.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- James Harden had Game 2 on his fingertips -- and then he didn't.

photo

AP

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives Thursday against Houston Rockets guard Corey Brewer (33) during the second half of Game 2 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals in Oakland, Calif.

Now the Golden State Warriors have the Western Conference finals in their grasp.

Stephen Curry scored 33 points before Harden lost the ball in the closing seconds, and the Warriors held off the Houston Rockets 99-98 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the series.

NBA playoffs

CONFERENCE FINALS

(Best-of-7)

WEDNESDAY’S GAME

Cleveland 97, Atlanta 89,

Cleveland leads series 1-0

THURSDAY’S GAME

Golden State 99, Houston 98,

Golden State leads series 2-0

TODAY’S GAME All times Central

Cleveland at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.

Harden rallied the Rockets from 17 points down in the second quarter and had a chance to finish off the comeback in the fourth. Instead, Klay Thompson harassed him and Curry came over to trap Harden, who lost the ball as time expired.

"It's great competition," Warriors Coach Steve Kerr said. "It's two teams that really want to get to the finals."

Harden fell to the floor and put his hands over his head as the Warriors celebrated on the court, the sellout crowd roared and golden-yellow confetti fell from the rafters.

Harden had 38 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists, and Dwight Howard overcame a sprained left knee that slowed him down to finish with 19 points and 17 rebounds for a Rockets team headed home in a major hole.

Game 3 is Saturday in Houston.

Curry, the NBA MVP, made five three-pointers to go with 6 assists and 3 rebounds. He got a big boost from his teammates -- notably Andrew Bogut, Draymond Green and Thompson -- to regroup after the Warriors lost the big lead in the first half.

But the Warriors pulled ahead again late in the fourth quarter because of Curry -- with his shot and his passes.

Curry connected on a three-pointer, then found Bogut under the rim for a layup that sent the 7-footer flexing his muscles and shouting to the roaring, yellow-shirt wearing crowd. Bogut missed the ensuing free throw, but the Warriors led 96-89 with 2:25 left.

Harden, the MVP runner-up, kept finding ways to draw fouls and brought Houston back on free throws. The Rockets also forced the Warriors into an eight-second, backcourt violation before Harden found Howard for an alley-oop that sliced Golden State's lead to 99-98 with 33 seconds remaining.

Harrison Barnes missed a difficult reverse layup contested by Howard as the shot clock nearly expired. Harden got the ball down the court, and Rockets Coach Kevin McHale elected not to call timeout because his team had the Warriors scrambling and outmanned.

Harden was trapped by Thompson, and Curry came over as Harden lost the ball. Time expired amid the scramble.

"I will take our best player heading downhill on a broken court any day of the week. That's where he feasts," McHale said.

The Warriors bench ran onto the court in celebration. Harden lay on the floor until teammates helped him up.

That ended a back-and-forth contest -- one that saw the Rockets rally the same way the Warriors did in Game 1, when they came back from a 16-point deficit in the second quarter.

Howard wore a black brace over his sprained left knee. He lacked the usual lift in his legs -- unable to contest many of those rim-rattling dunks -- but still produced on both ends.

But the Rockets turned to Harden when they needed a boost. He helped Houston regroup with a 23-6 run in the second quarter as they took advantage of Golden State's sloppy turnovers (17 in all), tying the score at 55-all at the half.

Thompson, Barnes and Leandro Barbosa took turns guarding Harden in the second half with mixed results. The Rockets led by six early in the third quarter, quieting the crowd, then fell behind 83-77 with Harden on the bench early in the fourth.

"We're not going to go anywhere," McHale said. "We're just going to keep standing here and swinging."

Sports on 05/22/2015

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