Basket, NBA: The Golden State Warriors did not skip a beat without key point guard Stephen Curry, routing the Houston Rockets 114-81 on Wednesday night to seal a 4-1 series triumph in the first round of the Western Conference play-offs. The defending NBA champs will move on to face either the Portland Trail Blazers or Los Angeles Clippers. If the Trail Blazers, up 3-2 in the series, can finish off the injury-ravaged Clippers at home tonight, the Western semi-final best-of-seven would start on Sunday in Oakland.

Gymnastics: Former Olympic gymnastics all-around champion Nastia Liukin said that fellow American Simone Biles is the best gymnast she has seen and predicts the petite dynamo will be the darling of the Rio Games. Liukin, who claimed gold with elegant aplomb at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, said she can hardly wait for the Aug. 5-21 Rio Games and was hard-pressed to name Biles’ main competition. “To be honest, she’s her own competition,” Liukin told Reuters. “She’s just competing against herself. She’s the best gymnast I’ve ever seen.”

Boxing: Carl Frampton’s challenge of Leo Santa Cruz for the WBA featherweight title will take place on Saturday, July 30 at the Barclays Center in New York. Frampton announced on social media last week that he would step up in weight to challenge the highly-rated Mexican warrior in the Big Apple, with the date announced yesterday. It is a bout that will set the pulses racing on both sides of the Atlantic with both fighters unbeaten.