Stephen Curry scores 40 as Warriors take 3-0 lead on Rockets

HOUSTON -- Golden State coach Steve Kerr described Stephen Curry's performance Saturday night simply.

"Steph was Steph," Kerr said.

Indeed.

The MVP did what he does best, using his extraordinary 3-point shooting to power a 40-point game and the Warriors made it look easy against Houston, beating the Rockets 115-80 to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

"He's had a brilliant season," Kerr said. "The shooting is hard to describe because I don't think we've ever seen anybody shoot the ball the way Steph does off the dribble, off the catch."

The Warriors won the first two games by just five points combined. There would be no such drama in this one, with Curry leading them to a 26-point advantage in the second quarter.

Now the baby-faced MVP has Golden State one victory away from its first trip to the NBA Finals since it won the 1975 title. Game 4 is Monday night in Houston.

"We understand it's a special moment. It's just we're wrapped up in our day-to-day grind of preparing for games and going out and exerting all the effort we need to make this story happen," Curry said. "So it's kind of hard to remove yourself from those emotions."

Curry was unstoppable, making seven 3-pointers to break the NBA record for most 3s in the playoffs in a season with 64.

MVP runner-up James Harden finished with 17 points behind 10-of-11 free throw shooting but made just three of 16 shots as the Rockets dropped three straight for the first time all season. It is the first time this postseason that Harden's scored less than 20 points. Hakeem Olajuwon is the only other player in Rockets history to score at least 20 in his first 14 games of a postseason, back in 1994.

Dwight Howard, who played despite a knee injury suffered in Game 1, had 14 points and 14 rebounds.

Houston rebounded from a 3-1 deficit in the conference semifinals to beat the Clippers and move on. No team in NBA history has won a series after falling behind 3-0.

"We just can't quit on each other," Howard said. "We've come too far. We've been through too many battles to just allow it to end like tonight ... we've just got to man up."

Draymond Green and Klay Thompson added 17 points apiece for the Warriors.

Curry had 37 points after three quarters and went to the bench for good with about 5½ minutes remaining after his seventh 3-pointer made it 103-73. He also had seven rebounds and five assists.

After Kerr complained about turnovers in the last game, the Warriors had just one before halftime to help them run away with this one early.

"If we defend like crazy and take of the ball, we're going to be in good shape," Kerr said.

The Rockets have rebounded from double-digit deficits in three of their eight wins this postseason, but this time they fell into a hole way too big to overcome. Especially when Harden's shots weren't falling.

The Warriors were in control of this one from the start and were up by 12 at the end of the first. But things got out of hand quickly when Curry heated up.

A pair of free throws by Harden cut the lead to nine points with about six minutes left in the quarter when Curry took over. He scored the next six points as part of a 16-5 run where he scored all but two of the Warriors points to push the lead to 54-34.

Curry broke the record for 3s in the playoffs on a long one from the top of the key that put Golden State up 49-32 about 4½ minutes before halftime. Reggie Miller set the previous mark of 58 in 2000.

He did a little bit of everything in that span. There was the finger-roll layup, a bank shot, seven free throws and even a pair of rebounds to get Golden State rolling.

Houston couldn't do anything right on either end of the court for most of the second quarter and made just one field goal and missed six shots in the six minutes before halftime.

"I was surprised that we didn't come out with more," Houston coach Kevin McHale said. "I thought we would come out with a little more juice."

The Warriors led by 25 at halftime, and Houston opened the third quarter strong, using a 13-6 spurt to get within 68-50. Thompson made a free throw after that before Curry took control once again, scoring the next five points, including a 3-pointer under heavy pressure, to push it to 75-50 midway through the third quarter.

Curry pumped his fist and screamed to no one in particular as several of his teammates raised three fingers in the air.

He wrapped up the third quarter in much the same way, scoring Golden State's last five points, capped by a 3-pointer to make it 92-61 entering the fourth quarter.

Curry also became the first player in NBA history with five or more 3s in five straight postseason games.

Howard was the only positive for the Rockets in the first half, and he had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Harden made just one of eight shots in the first half but had eight points after making all six of his free throws.

Golden State led 62-37 at halftime.

The Warriors led 30-18 at the end of the first quarter behind 10 points from Andrew Bogut.

IN THE CROWD

Curry interacted a bit with some Houston fans sitting courtside. He said one of them cursed at him, and after hitting a 3 from the corner he turned around to that fan and just said, "Sit down."

"That's the fun of playoff basketball on the road," Curry said. "You've got hecklers and guys up close that paid a lot of money for those seats that want to get their money's worth ... if they want to talk, hopefully, they can take some back."

TIP-INS

Rockets: Houston's 18 points in the first quarter and 37 points at halftime were playoff lows. ... Harden leads the NBA this postseason by making at least 10 free throws in six games.

Warriors: Bogut finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds. ... Green had 13 rebounds for his ninth double-double this postseason. ... Curry's 40 points are the most an opponent had scored against Houston in the playoffs this year.

The Associated Press and ESPN Stats and Information contributed to this report.