SAN FRANCISCO - Houston Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet started the possession hugging Stephen Curry in the paint and ended it watching Curry nail a 3-pointer over Rockets guard Jalen Green with five seconds remaining on the shot clock.

This was the game the Rockets needed to win on the road. Jimmy Butler was sitting on the bench in a brown sweat suit, out with a pelvic contusion after his fall in Game 2. The Warriors are not the same team without him.

SAN FRANCISCO – Facing the league’s most physical and handsy defense without his fearless co-star, the Warriors asked 37-year-old Steph Curry to put the offense on his shoulders in the third game of Golden State’s Western Conference playoff series with the Houston Rockets.