Stephen Curry Exposed by Rockets, Leaving Crybaby Warriors Fans Desperately Offering Excuses: It’s Not Injury — It’s Mike D’Antoni’s Own Version of The Jordan Rules

As red confetti shoots into the air and the Houston Rockets fans stand to cheer their team, suddenly believing again, Stephen Curry shuffles toward the tunnel to the visitors locker room. He’s the last Golden State Warrior to leave the court area and his coach, Steve Kerr, is two steps behind him.

Kerr hustles up and pats Curry on the back, sharing a few words before they disappear from view.

This isn’t how Stephen Curry expected to leave Space City. But here he is The Incredibly Shrinking Superstar, needing a few words of encouragement before he departs a ringing Toyota Center. Curry is the most impactful shooter in NBA history — the man who turned 30-foot bombs into devastating weapons. But his shot looks broken right now. And his defense is as average to mediocre as it’s always been.

The Rockets are attacking Curry like paparazzi who smell a Kardashian. They’re concentrating on him on defense. They’re mercilessly attacking him on offense, making him the No. 1 target of their much debated ISO ball scheme.

Mike D’Antoni never gets enough credit for his coaching prowess (unless Ethan Hawke is in the room). But after Rockets 127, Warriors 105 in Game 2, after his team responds to all the Game 1 angst with a runaway romp, he deserves plenty.

“We can beat anybody anytime at any time playing the way we play,” D’Antoni says.

It suddenly looks like this super anticipated Warriors-Rockets showdown could be a series after all. Charles Barkley can no longer make jokes about Golden State winning in three. The 65-win Rockets have a playoff pulse — and a real chance if they can keep making a two-time league MVP disappear.

Give D’Antoni credit. He’s identified the real head of the snake, the star who makes one of the best teams in NBA history transcendent. Kevin Durant is great, but as otherworldly as Durant is, he does not energize the Warriors the way a Steph run of threes does. The Rockets have no one with any chance of stopping Durant anyway.

This 7-foot unicorn is scoring at will (75 points in the first two games of the series), but getting no one else involved (Durant has one assist in 75 minutes in the first two games of the Western Conference Finals). And James Harden is supposed to be the ball hog?

The Rockets’ No. 1 defensive priority is Curry — and it’s working. The Best Shooter on the Planet is 2 for 13 from 3-point range in this series. Even when Klay Thompson got a boatload of open threes in Game 1, Curry didn’t.

It’s left Golden State Warriors fans hilariously scrambling for excuses, insisting on Twitter that Curry must be hurt. He looks hurt. He has to be hurt, right?

Because of course, it couldn’t be the Rockets defense. It’s like watching a kid realize there may not be a Santa Claus.

“I’m feeling great,” Curry himself insists in his postgame press conference. “Tonight, as a whole, I didn’t find a rhythm early. I had some decent looks early from three that could have changed the momentum of the game early in the first half. It was just a frustrating night all around.”

The Curry Cage

The Rockets’ gameplan revolves around frustrating Curry, around wearing him down, around leaving him with little energy to hit those rainmaking threes. They target Curry on 23 of their offensive possessions in Game 2, forcing him to play one-on-one defense again and again and again.

That’s a draining proposition for any offensive savant, let alone one who is coming off a knee injury that forced him to miss five weeks. It almost does not matter that the Rockets shoot a very efficient 7 for 15 going right at Curry. It’s more important to keep him working on defense.

D’Antoni knows what he’s doing. And the Rockets just may be getting in Stephen Curry’s head. They’re certainly driving the Warriors’ Twitter army batty.

“It’s obviously one of our things we like to do,” D’Antoni says of targeting Curry when he’s playing defense.

The coach who is not supposed to care about defense is defending the best shooter in the game by forcing him to work relentlessly while the Rockets are on offense.

It remains to be seen whether the Rockets’ role players can have the kind of huge games they had in Game 2 on the road. Eric Gordon’s spectacular on this night (27 points in 33 minutes off the bench, including one Harden-worthy dribble-dribble step back three). But he’s about as consistent a presence as Halley’s Comet. P.J. Tucker is an energy and corner 3 machine (5 of 6 on triples overall, 22 points and seven rebounds). And Trevor Ariza remembered he can score and play make (19 points and six assists).

Yet, no one has any sense at all on how this trio will play going forward the rest of the series. Donald Trump’s morning tweets are more predictable.

But the Rockets can control continuing to make Curry’s superstar life awfully uncomfortable. If they do, they’ll have a chance.

This Houston team can survive Durant’s brilliance, if Curry stays muted. Detroit Pistons coach Chuck Daly famously came up with The Jordan Rules back in the day. Mike D’Antoni may have schemed up The Curry Cage.

Can you imagine if Harden put up back-to-back games in the playoffs like Stephen Curry has in these first two games of the Western Conference Finals? Harden would be crucified on every national talk show in the land.

Curry will largely get a pass — at least until Game 3 Sunday night. Warriors fans have an army of excuses. Mike D’Antoni has a plan.

Right now, that just could be a winning hand.