Rockets Avoid Sweep, Stephen Curry Avoids Serious Injury

The Rockets started game four on fire, making 8-9 threes in the first quarter and blitzing the Warriors with 45 points in the period to take a 23 point lead.  Though the Warriors would close the gap to 10 at the break, they never really threatened in the 2nd half and the Rockets eased to a 128-115 win.

The Rockets thus avoid a sweep and earn a trip back to Oakland for game five.  The Warriors apparently avoided disaster when Stephen Curry fell hard and hit his head on the floor in the 2nd quarter as he attempted to block a Trevor Ariza shot under the basket, but landed on Ariza's back and tumbled to the floor. He was on the floor for several minutes while the medical staff worked on him, then walked to the locker room.

He was able to return to the game in the 2nd half, however, after doctors determined he was not suffering from a concussion. I hope the NBA will consider a rule that requires any head injury that results in a player leaving the game means he cannot return that game, because concussion symptoms aren't always immediately obvious. Caution should rule here, and players should be held out for further evaluation over the ensuing 24 hours.

At any rate, James Harden had a huge night, going for 45 points on 13-22 shooting, while Josh Smith got things going early and finished with 20 on eight shot attempts. The Rockets found their touch from range, shooting 17-32 from three and making enough free throws (25-43) to keep the Warriors at bay.

Tonight, the Cleveland Cavaliers will look to sweep the Atlanta Hawks over in the Eastern Conference. (7:30 pm CDT, TNT).  The Cavs escaped game three in overtime to reach this point, and are one win away from a Finals appearance in LeBron James' first year back in Cleveland. They are doing it without Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, relying on James and offensive rebounding for much of their offense, along with the occasional eruption from guys like J.R. Smith. Their defense and rebounding has been key to their success throughout the playoffs. Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov have been terrific up front in those areas, and they will look for one more big performance tonight at home to move on.

Some weekend rehash on Wolves stuff, of which there is very little:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tentative <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Twolves?src=hash">#Twolves</a> draft workout for Friday, I hear: Boatright, Mickey, Holmes, Blackshear, and probably two other guards.</p>&mdash; Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) <a href="https://twitter.com/DWolfsonKSTP/status/602564164238860288">May 24, 2015</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Top picks update: Okafor back training in Santa Barbara, and Mudiay will workout for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Twolves?src=hash">#Twolves</a>. But no date or location locked in yet.</p>&mdash; Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) <a href="https://twitter.com/DWolfsonKSTP/status/602268630722678784">May 24, 2015</a></blockquote>

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Apparently a couple of Wolves (at least) are working with a trainer named Drew Hanlen this summer:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Started working w/ <a href="https://twitter.com/AnthonyBennett">@AnthonyBennett</a> 2 weeks ago &amp; he&#39;s lost 12lbs, improved his shot &amp; added a ton of mid-post moves! <a href="https://t.co/VyokrEuaVm">https://t.co/VyokrEuaVm</a></p>&mdash; Drew Hanlen (@DrewHanlen) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrewHanlen/status/602238974250196992">May 23, 2015</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Great to be back in the gym with my bro <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachLaVine">@ZachLaVine</a>! <a href="https://t.co/Id8qvqH3QO">https://t.co/Id8qvqH3QO</a></p>&mdash; Drew Hanlen (@DrewHanlen) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrewHanlen/status/603012603099521024">May 26, 2015</a></blockquote>

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Meanwhile, this Zgoda tweet led to a long debate on twitter last night:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">While you&#39;re wringing your hands about Flip taking Okafor...don&#39;t underestimate Flip&#39;s faith in KG working w/ him on defense &amp; positioning</p>&mdash; Jerry Zgoda (@JerryZgoda) <a href="https://twitter.com/JerryZgoda/status/603027382002298880">May 26, 2015</a></blockquote>

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I think Key is going to publish a big pro-Towns article soon, which means I might have to take a Devil's advocate position at some point just to make sure we're fair and balanced. Wait, what?

Today in history

1538: John Calvin expelled from Geneva
1647: Alse Young first person in Colonies executed for witchcraft; Hartford, CT.
1805: Lewis and Clark first sight the Rocky Mountains
1857: Dred Scott and family freed by owner months after Supreme Court ruled against him
1864: Montana Territory formed
1868: Andrew Johnson avoids impeachment by one vote
1896: Dow Jones begins tracking its Index
1896: Nicolas II, last Czar of Russia, is crowned
1927: Ford produces final Model T car
1937: Golden Gate Bridge opens
1938: House of Representatives forms HUAC 
1972: U.S. and USSR sign SALT accord

Today's musical birthday is Miles Davis, born in 1926 (d. 1991)

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