Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives with the ball as Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks (9) defends during the first quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Imagesimage captionGolden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives with the ball as Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks (9) defends during the first quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives with the ball as Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks (9) defends during the first quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
The Houston Rockets ended a stretch of 15 consecutive losses to the Golden State Warriors with a 91-90 win tonight at the Toyota Center in Houston for a spot in the NBA Cup semi-finals. The Rockets improve their record to 17-8 for the season and will face the OKC Thunder in Las Vegas, while the Warriors record worsens to 14-10.
Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 26 points (10-18 FG), 11 rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Jabari Smith Jr. had 15 points (6-11 FG) while Amen Thompson stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal, and two blocks. Jalen Green had 12 points (5-15 FG) and three steals, but Fred VanVleet struggled with eight points (3-13 FG) and seven assists.
Jonathan Kuminga scored 20 points (8-20 FG) with seven rebounds as the Warriors' most productive player on the night as Stephen Curry had a quiet 19 points (8-17 FG). Buddy Hield put up 15 points (6-12 FG), two steals, and three blocks whereas Draymond Green had eight points (4-9 FG), four assists, two steals, and one block.
Let's analyze the biggest takeaways from the Rockets' first win against the Warriors since February 2020.
Warriors Let This One Slip
The Golden State Warriors looked in control of this game with a 90-84 lead in the last five minutes but allowed the Rockets to go on a 7-0 run to end the game which cost them qualification to the NBA Cup quarterfinals. The box score will sting for the Warriors after the game, as they outhustled the Rockets across the board tonight.
The Warriors forced the Rockets into 16 turnovers (13 steals) compared to the 15 (10 steals) they coughed up the ball. They also out-rebounded Houston 39-36, but this marginal outperforming couldn't save them in clutch time where Golden State also fell victim to two 24-second violations, with an eight-second backcourt violation coming earlier in the quarter as well.
Steve Kerr has to take accountability for how this game ended up, with questionable substitutions in the fourth quarter as well. He tinkered excessively with the lineup, playing nine guys in the final quarter. This led to some costly mismatches like Alperen Sengun attacking Kevon Looney (2 PTS, 7 REB) or Stephen Curry taking a brief rest after their six-point lead which caused the game to slip out of their fingers.
Rockets Need To Trust Their Bench
The Houston Rockets have really solid depth across their roster with a good mix of proven veterans and talented youngsters. However, as Ime Udoka is trying to maximize wins this season, he has elected to play a tight rotation with the best players on the roster. It's worked out well for them this season and tonight, but they narrowly escaped this loss and a stubborn rotation might have caused it.
The Rockets played an eight-man rotation tonight as compared to the Warriors playing 11 men. One of the eight rotational players for Houston was Aaron Holiday (2 PTS, 2 AST), a career backup who got valuable minutes while young stars like Reed Sheppard and Cam Whitmore received DNPs. Players getting DNPs alongside them tonight also included veterans Jeff Green and Steven Adams, as well as Jock Landale.
Nobody is saying Udoka needs to run an 11 or 12-man rotation like Kerr has been this season, but he needs to have more options to turn to when his core players are struggling. They went through a four-minute spell in the fourth quarter without scoring, something which could be abated by using players like Whitmore or Sheppard, who could've provided a much-needed shooting boost.
Overcoming A Shooting Disaster
The Rockets looked likely to lose this game and it would've been fair to blame it on a team-wide shooting disaster. They had gone 3-19 on 3-point attempts through the first three quarters but managed to hit the big shots when it mattered the most in the fourth quarter (3-8 3P). Even with their poor shooting, their defense kept them in the game throughout as they pushed the Warriors into an inefficient night as well.
The Rockets shot 38-83 (45.8 FG%) from the field this game, besting the Warriors' 37-84 (44.0 FG%) performance from the field. Golden State fared better when it came to outside shooting with 12-38 (31.6 3P%) while the Rockets had a dud night with 6-27 (22.2 3P%).
Houston was out-rebounded, out-hustled, and out-shot tonight but managed to pull this win out with their aggressive defense throughout the evening which ensured Golden State never created enough of a scoring lead for it to be insurmountable. As a result, the Rockets have beaten the Warriors after 15 consecutive losses and are firmly ahead of them in the standings.
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