UPDATE 8:50 PM — The Rockets raced to a big lead and never looked back Monday night in hopes of staving off elimination and stopping the Warriors from sweeping the Western Conference Finals series on their home court.

James Harden shrugged off his lackluster performance from Saturday night’s blowout loss to help give the Rockets a 128-115 win in Game 4.

Harden turned in some spectacular play on both sides of the court on his way to scoring 45 points — along with 7 three-pointers — 9 rebounds and 5 assists.

The game got out of control fast for the Warriors. The Rockets jumped out to a 45-22 lead in the first quarter. Golden State started to close the gap until Steph Curry suffered a head in injury with just under 6-minutes left in the half.

On the play, jumped to block a shot by Rockets forward Trevor Ariza near the basket and ended up flipping head over feet. Curry landed upside down on the court smacking the back of his head.

The NBA MVP left the game and was considered questionable to return due to a head contusion. He would miss about 12 minutes before re-entering in the 3rd quarter.

The injury and respite disrupted his shooting as his first attempt missed the rim. Moments later, Curry nailed a 3-pointer that got Golden State within six points with less than 8 1/2 minutes remaining. But Harden, who had 17 points in the fourth quarter, scored the next seven points as part of 10 straight by Houston to push the lead to 114-98.

Klay Thompson had 24 points and Curry added 23 for Golden State, which can reach the NBA Finals with a victory at home on Wednesday.

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UPDATE 7:50 — Steph Curry is back on the floor for the Warriors.

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UPDATE 7:30 — The Warriors will have to try to sweep the Rockets without their leader. Curry did not come out of the locker room to start the second half.

It’s doubtful coach Steve Kerr will try to put him back in the game.

Steph Curry is questionable with a head contusion. He left the game in the 2nd quarter with 11 points.

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UPDATE 7:20 — Steph Curry suffered a head injury after taking a nasty fall in the 2nd quarter. Curry jumped to block a shot by Rockets forward Trevor Ariza near the basket and ended up flipping head over feet. Curry landed upside down on the court smacking the back of his head.

Curry stayed down for several minutes but was able to walk off the floor. TV cameras following him and the medical staff back to the locker room show Curry with a dazed a look while rubbing his head.

The team called Curry’s return questionable with a head contusion. Golden State general manager Bob Myers tweeted Curry “should be all right.”

The team was down 55-36 at the time of Curry’s injury, which happened with 5:52 left to play in the 2nd quarter. The Warriors managed to cut the Rockets’ lead to 10 and now trail 59-69 at halftime.

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STAY with KRON 4 News for game coverage online. Join us after the game on TV for highlights and coverage from the Oracle Arena.

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SATURDAY NIGHT — The Dubs play in the paint was highlighted by Steph Curry who managed to box out Rockets 6′ 11″, 275 lbs center Dwight Howard to snatch away the ball. The Warriors grabbed 21 more rebounds than Houston and outscored the Rockets 58-42 in the paint.

Houston coach Kevin McHale was particularly unhappy with his team’s offensive rebounding as they had just nine to 17 by Golden State.

“If we don’t win the points in the paint, don’t win the rebound battle, we don’t win a lot of games,” McHale said. “You can look at our record throughout the course of the year. We’ve got to win at least one of those, and if we win both of those, we do pretty well.”

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SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — The Golden State Warriors face the Houston Rockets Monday night as the Dubs look to book their first trip to the NBA Finals since 1975.

The Warriors lead the Rockets 3-0 after a decisive a 115-80 win in Game 3 on Saturday night, when Stephen Curry piled on 40 points.

No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in a seven-game play-off series.

Game 4 of the Western Conference finals is set to tip off at the Toyota Center in Houston at 6 p.m. Monday.

If the Warriors don’t win, Game 5 would be back at Oracle in Oakland on Wednesday night, also at 6.pm.

Jason Appelbaum and Bip Roberts talk Warriors on KRON 4’s Sports Night Live.