Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry was ruled out of Monday’s playoff game against the Houston Rockets after failing a pregame fitness test on a sore right ankle.

Curry cut short a warm-up to test his ankle before the Warriors took to the court to face the Rockets, who lead the series 1-0 after a 104-78 rout at the weekend.

Shaun Livingston was named to take Curry’s place in the line-up.

Curry, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player, missed Monday’s earlier shootaround in the hope he would be able to play later that night.

After a pregame warmup that lasted less than 15 minutes, Curry trudged off the court visibly irritated before being declared unfit to play shortly afterward.

Game three of the best-of-seven series is set for Thursday in Houston.

Curry led the scoring with 24 points in game one despite being limited to just 20 minutes of court time.