Rockets Fall to Warriors, 127-120, Remain Winless on Home-Stand
Too Much Klay. Career Nights. Fall Break.
The Rockets tried to run with the Warriors, but after a valiant effort, they ultimately fell short, 127-120, on Sunday night. After a frenetic first half that saw Houston trail by as many as 18 points, and then comeback to grab a 9-point lead, the second half saw these teams trade blows. In the end, Golden State had too much firepower for the Rockets to withstand. Klay Thompson got the party started for the Warriors, scoring 20 of his 41 points in the first quarter. Klay had been struggling to start the year, but he made this visit to Houston his breakout game of the season. Thompson nailed 10 of his 13 attempts from three, and shot 14-for-23 overall from the floor. Stephen Curry started out in distribution mode, but finished the matchup with 31 points and 15 assists, as he had some key shots late to put the Rockets dreams of victory to sleep.
Kevin Porter Jr. led Houston with 30 points, but it was the rookies who had career nights for the Rockets. Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason both set career-highs in scoring in what was their best games so far of their young NBA careers. Jabari ended the night with 22 points on 8-for-14 shooting, and grabbed 7 rebounds. Eason registered 19 points and had 8 boards on the evening, as Houston’s newcomers showed fans a taste of what’s to come in the future. Jalen Green once again struggled with his jumper. Green went only 1-for-8 beyond the arc, scoring below-average 16 points in the game. And KJ Martin continues to quietly play well off the bench, recording another double-digit scoring game with 12 points on the evening. Ultimately, Curry and Thompson were too much to overcome for the Rockets. The Splash Brothers combined for 74 points, and help came in the form of Andrew Wiggins, who scored 22 points in the contest.
Houston now has a rare mini-break as we head into Thanksgiving week. The Rockets have the next four days off, but they’ll want to avoid falling behind their usual routines to maintain game-shape. Their next matchup isn’t until Black Friday, when they’ll host the Atlanta Hawks in the first of two straight games at Toyota Center. The Oklahoma City Thunder come to town on Saturday night to finish the back-to-back. Houston needs to get plenty of rest over these next few days and be prepared for tough matchups over the weekend. Trae Young and the Hawks are likely playoff bound once again, and the Thunder have arguable the Most-Improved Player who’s putting up MVP-caliber numbers in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. SGA has been playing out of his mind. So rest up Rockets… as next weekend the squad will need fresh legs to run with these incoming superstars.