Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry dismissed concerns over his fitness after his team's loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
Curry was again unable to get going, finishing with 16 points after shooting just seven of 19 as the Rockets levelled the Western Conference finals at 1-1 courtesy of a 127-105 win.
The two-time NBA MVP has battled ankle and knee injuries this season and is averaging 22 points – a career-low – in six playoff games in 2017-18.
But Curry, 30, played down any worries about his health, instead saying he was simply unable to find a rhythm in game two.
"I'm feeling great," he told a news conference.
"I didn't find a rhythm early. I had some decent looks from three that could've changed the momentum of the game early, in the first half, but for the most part it was just a frustrating night all the way around.
"They made some adjustments, got other guys involved and they made plays and that's kind of how a series like this is going to be, game after game it's going to be a chess match and tonight we just didn't make enough plays to stop the momentum in this building and that was the difference in the game.
"P.J. Tucker, Trevor Ariza, Eric Gordon, they stepped up tonight so we've got to be ready for that kind of aggressiveness from them in game three and keep doing what we're doing."
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said the Rockets were simply more aggressive than the reigning champions, who host games three and four on Sunday and Tuesday respectively.
"They just played a lot harder than they did in the first game. They played with more confidence, made a few adjustments that were effective, did a good job," he said.
"I think a lot of these games, when you get in the playoffs, teams that are very talented, great teams, it often comes down to which one has the edge in terms of the aggression, the desperation.
"They were desperate tonight and they played like it and we didn't and the result showed."
