Golden State Warriors ready to rest Stephen Curry again

Steve Kerr is ready to coach the Golden State Warriors with Steph Curry seated next to him on the bench in Game 3 at Houston.

The Warriors grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series over the Rockets on Monday with reigning MVP Curry sidelined by an ankle injury. Game 3 is Thursday in Houston.

"We'll see how he responds the next couple of days, and if he's not right, obviously being up 2-0 does give us more cushion if we decide to sit him. But it will be based on his health, not the series score," Kerr said.

The Warriors used interchangeable parts in the backcourt to beat the Rockets 115-106. Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston played more minutes and Klay Thompson got more shots.

Kerr said the next time Curry would be on the court is Wednesday. The Warriors are scheduled to practice at Toyota Center in the afternoon.

"It's really what the training staff says and what Steph says about how he's feeling," Kerr said.

The initial ankle sprain happened Saturday in Game 1 as Curry turned to retreat downcourt after firing a 3-pointer.

Curry did not decide to sit until he cut short his pregame routine Monday night. It's likely he will be considered a game-time decision Thursday.

"We will definitely err on the side of caution," Kerr said. "If he's not right, then he's not going to play. It's not worth risking turning this into a long-term issue.

"We had a good conversation before shootaround, and Steph is a very rational person. He's easy to speak with, and we kind of went over the different scenarios. He understands we have, first of all, his best interests at heart -- his career. We know that he had surgery on that ankle four years ago. He has a lot of basketball ahead of him. There's plenty of cases in the past where people played through stuff, and it didn't turn out so well -- Grant Hill being the one that always jumps out at me -- and whether that's the same type of thing as this, I don't really know. But I do know that we have to look after his health because the competitor that he is, he's going to want to play."