NBA Playoff Schedule 2019: Guide to TV Start Times, Live Stream Info
The Houston Rockets are already shouldering the weight of a must-win game as they return home for Saturday's showdown with the Golden State Warriors.
Despite some hold-your-breath moments, the champs held serve at Oracle Arena and squeaked out victories by four- and six-point margins. It wasn't always pretty, but it built up a 2-0 advantage that could feel insurmountable if it stretches to 3-0.
The Rockets seem close, but close doesn't cut it this time of year. Even though Game 3 doesn't technically present win-or-go-fishing stakes, it might feel that way to the home team.
Saturday's NBA Playoff Schedule
Game 3—Golden State Warriors at Houston Rockets, 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC (Live Stream: WatchESPN)
Latest Buzz
Harden Is Healing
James Harden apparently doesn't need perfect vision to shred nets at an absurd rate.
Houston's MVP candidate fired at will in Game 2, finishing with 29 points on 9-of-19 shooting (3-of-7 from range, 8-of-9 at the line) despite suffering injuries to both eyes after he was inadvertently hit in the face by Golden State's Draymond Green a little more than five minutes into the contest.
Per ESPN's Tim MacMahon, Harden "suffered contusions in both eyes and a laceration on the inside of his left eyelid" but escaped with no damage to his corneas. Harden said he could "barely see" and the vision in his left eye was particularly blurry.
Adding intrigue to this rivalry, several Warriors reportedly questioned the severity of Harden's injury, per Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes:
Regardless, it sounds like Harden is on the mend, and his status is certain heading into this critical collision.
"If I played barely seeing last game, what makes you think I'm going to sit out Game 3?" Harden said, per MacMahon.
Harden's shooting rates have sagged from the regular season overall (44.2 to 37.7) and outside (36.8 to 33.7), but he remains the lifeblood of this attack. He's paced Houston in points during all seven postseason contests, and the club's offensive efficiency has tanked without him (111.6 on court, 88.8 off).
Curry Playing Through Pain
Harden wasn't the only All-Star to suffer an injury during Tuesday's tilt. Two-time MVP Stephen Curry dislocated his left middle finger while blocking Houston big man Clint Capela, which forced Curry off the floor and into the locker room for X-rays and to have his finger taped.
While Curry only missed a shade more than three minutes of game action, he struggled to find his shooting touch throughout the evening. He finished with 20 points, shooting 6-of-16 (3-of-13 from deep) and recording as many fouls as assists (five).
He admits the finger is still giving him problems, but it won't keep him off the floor Saturday.
"It feels all right," Curry told reporters. "It's going to hurt, but it is what it is at this point. You've just got to keep playing."
Curry's play has been up-and-down this postseason, by his standards at least. Tuesday was his second game in eight shooting below 38 percent from the field, and his 23.3 points per game are the fewest he's averaged in the playoffs since 2013-14.
But unlike with Harden, the Warriors don't live and die with Curry's production. Kevin Durant has been the club's leading scorer with an NBA-best 34.3 points per game, and Klay Thompson has engineered three outings of at least 21 points and three triples.
The Dubs don't have the depth to go without Curry, but they've shown they can win when he's not as his best.
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