Rockets Spoil Steph's Return in an Exhilarating Finish on the Road
· Yahoo Sports
NBA fans in the Bay Area were rewarded with a treat late on Sunday night. Future Hall of Fame guard, Stephen Curry, suited up for his team to play for his first time in more than two months. .
While the return of Steph was expected to help, their injury report was still extensive, as previously covered on Roundtable. It would be a tough test for Golden State, as the Rockets were in town looking to build on their five consecutive wins.
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Stephen Curry took a while to get in the stat sheet, as his minutes restriction forced Steve Kerr to bring him off of the bench. The Warriors did quite alright without their star though.
The game started 7-0 for Golden State, followed by a 6-0 run on Houston’s side. Just to make things more weird, the Warriors went on to score another six unanswered.
They don’t call it “a game of runs” for no reason.
The home crowd roared with excitement as Curry checked in with just under five minutes remaining. His presence was felt right away, dropping a dime to Charles Bassey just seconds into his return.
There did appear to be some rust initially though. Steph was blocked by Durant and turned the ball over on consecutive possessions. This allowed the Rockets to close the gap again (24-25), but back to back Şengün turnovers allowed GSW to pull back out in front.
Curry got back in the scoring column with a signature bomb from way outside, ending an exciting first quarter 26-31.
After the initial slow start, the Rockets started the next period on fire. A 13-0 run completely blew the game open less than three minutes into the quarter. At least that’s what it seemed like.
In reality, the relentless and newly inspired Warriors stuck around and actually regained the lead with Curry on the bench. Back and forth once again, and 55-53 for Houston
The final 24 started with a bang: KD with a 4-point play, then KP with a dunk plus the foul. The 7’3 unicorn got himself another poster immediately after.
I think Şengün took that personally, as he went right at Porzinigis afterwards. Once again, Houston started to pull away after his 17th point gave them their first double digit lead at 70-60.
Jabari Smith Jr. drilled his fourth triple of the game, with his 19th point extending the lead to 12. Just hold only that lead to close to quarter, and the victory would become much easier.
Unfortunately Kevin Durant had to stop the bleeding after the Warriors went on another 11-0 run to end the quarter. From 15 points, to a single possession game, Houston felt lucky to still head into the final period with a double digit advantage.
That lead was cut in half just one minute into the fourth quarter before Jabari Smith and Alperen Şengün got back in their bags. The Rockets were able to maintain that double digit lead for a majority of the final stint, but it officially became a clutch game with 3:55 left.
Curry's 24th point made it 109-104 and brought the arena to life. An Amen Thompson turnover brought an even louder roar. Houston honestly just got lucky as Steph missed a layup on his next trip down. No worries for them, as another Rockets' turnover basically reset everything.
Melton's corner three dropped this time. 109-107, so who do you call? The Slim Reaper drained a three, but Bari couldn't match it the next time down. Two GSW layups made it a one point game.
After a Şengün and-one, plus another Curry bomb, the scoreboard read 115-114. Houston leads with 57.4 seconds remaining.
With the game on the line, a stop would be huge. The Rockets understandably sell out at Curry, but this allowed GP2 to slip inside for a potential game winner. 115-116 Warriors.
With 16.1 left, a quick drive from Durant and dropoff the Şengün gave them their final bucket of the night, and it'd thankfully be enough to hold off the team in Golden State. A tough fought win, the Rockets certainly earned their sixth consecutive victory.