OAKLAND – The Houston Rockets beat the Warriors, 116-108, snapping Golden State’s 14-game road winning streak. It was the final matchup this season between the top two teams in the Western Conference, a series the Rockets won, 2-1. It was a good night for Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, who recently told ESPN that beating the Warriors is “the only thing we think about.” Here’s how it all went down.
KEY MOMENT
It was anyone’s game heading into the fourth quarter with the Rockets having a 92-91 advantage. But then the Warriors did something they rarely do — they fell apart in the final minutes of the game. Over the last four minutes, the Warriors shot one-for-eight from the field, missing all five of their three-point attempts. That’s not going to cut it against the high-octane Rockets.
STOCK UP
Draymond Green — His shooting woes were nowhere to be found in this game. Green was the second-leading scorer behind Kevin Durant (26 points), finishing with 21 points on seven-for-nine shooting, seven rebounds and six assists. It was a significant uptick from the 11.3 points on 46.3 percent shooting that he’s averaging this season.
Draymond Green on loss to Rockets pic.twitter.com/74gnGfqN1o
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) January 21, 2018
Nick Young — He scored more than twice what he’s averaging this season (6.8 points), finishing with 16 points in 18 minutes off the bench. Young scored twice as much as any other reserve. The next-highest scorer off the bench was David West with eight points.
Nick Young on how he and rest of the team tried to offset the off nights from Steph and Klay pic.twitter.com/ojrqTRHOEq
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) January 21, 2018
STOCK DOWN
Klay Thompson — This was not his night. The sharpshooter had eight points in 37 minutes, making only three of his 11 field goal attempts. He was also two-for-five from beyond the arc.
Steve Kerr on Curry/Klay not shooting well, the team’s fouling and turnovers pic.twitter.com/5DRX0b3zP7
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) January 21, 2018
NUMBERS OF NOTE
19: That’s the number of turnovers that the Warriors had, a marked increase from the 15.7 they’re averaging this season. Steph Curry had six turnovers, Green had five and Durant added four.
7: That’s the number of games in a row the Warriors had won in Houston before losing Saturday. Chris Paul had 33 points on 10-for-20 shooting, 11 rebounds and seven assists. And James Harden had 22 points and eight assists.
11-22: That’s the date of the Warriors last loss in an away game. The Warriors were just two road wins shy of tying the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers record-setting road streak of 16 straight wins.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
Curry, who had 19 points on six-for-20 shooting, was not happy with some of the plays he made late in the fourth quarter. He said he watched film immediately after the game, and couldn’t help but beat himself up for not having the “right vision” on the court and failing to pass the ball to an open Durant twice.
“I made two of the worst plays of the season on those two possessions,” Curry said.
Here are the possessions he was referring to.
Here are the two plays late that Steph Curry was beating himself up about — missed KD popping wide open for a 3, missed KD for an easy transition dunk pic.twitter.com/jUl145szme
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 21, 2018
REPLAY OF THE GAME
Unfortunately for the Warriors, this category doesn’t belong to them tonight. Instead it features two key plays late in the fourth quarter by Harden, who was playing in his second game back from a quadriceps injury. He made a step-back three-pointer over Curry, then blocked a three-point attempt by Curry on the other end.
Harden with the dagger on Curry on both ends of the floor 😯 pic.twitter.com/s4ewJ3PdL1
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 21, 2018
UP NEXT
The Warriors now have a three-game homestand, beginning with the New York Knicks on Tuesday.
