The Short-handed Golden State Warriors beat the Portland Trail Blazers 110-81 in Game 2 of their NBA Western Conference first-round playoff series Wednesday night (Thursday AEST), without injured leading scorer Kevin Durant.
Stephen Curry scored 19 points on an average shooting night while JaVale McGee sparked the Warriors off the bench with 15 points.
Backup big man McGee made all seven of his field-goal attempts and delivered several more of his signature alley-oop dunks as Durant watched from the sidelines suffering with a strained left calf he hurt in their playoff opening win.
Draymond Green produced another all-around game with six points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, and three blocked shots.
Klay Thompson added 16 points for the Warriors while CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard struggled for the Trail Blazers, netting just 23 points between them.
James Harden scored 35 points as the Houston Rockets overcame a 51 point triple-double from Russell Westbrook in a 115-111 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Westbrook set a franchise playoff scoring record and added 13 assists and 10 rebounds in the most points ever scored in a post-season triple-double.
It was the sixth career playoff triple-double for Westbrook, who had an NBA-record 42 in the regular season.
But the Rockets contained him long enough in the fourth quarter to surge ahead and hold on for a 2-0 series lead in the west's first-round.
In a rough-and-tumble, foul-filled game, Bradley Beal took over in the fourth quarter with 16 of his 31 points, helping the Washington Wizards beat the Atlanta Hawks 109-101.
The Wizards have a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.
John Wall finished with 32 points and nine assists, including the dish to Beal for his shot from beyond the arc with 38 seconds remaining that sealed the win for the hosts.
Paul Millsap led the Hawks with 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Dennis Schroder scored 23 points but Dwight Howard had only seven rebounds, half his game one total, and six points.
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