Despite Late Start, Warriors Roll Past Rockets

The Golden State Warriors added yet another victory to their impressive record this season with a 123-110 home win over the Houston Rockets at Oracle Arena in Oakland on Tuesday night.

Warriors Roll Past Rockets

The Rockets put up quite the fight: they were down 42-27 after just one quarter, out-scored the Warriors 39-27 in the second period, and took a 93-90 lead in the final minute of the third. This comeback was a reminder of everything the Rockets did well last season under Kevin McHale: running the offense through James Harden, getting useful contributions from role players, and feeding off the defensive energy of Patrick Beverley to test the limits of the league’s elite.

However, they were not able to maintain that strength against Golden State until the last minute. The Warriors’ Andre Iguodala tied it up with a three-pointer late in the third quarter and scored the first eight points of the fourth for a pivotal 11-0 run. Harrison Barnes helped Golden State keep its lead with 19 total points, 17 of which came in the fourth quarter, and close out the game for the Warriors.

The third quarter fast break that propelled the Warriors to victory began with a Stephen Curry steal and led to a Leandro Barbosa lay-in that happened so quickly even some of their own teammates appeared surprised. Curry led the Warriors with 35 points and 7-on-16 shooting from beyond the arc and nine assists.

Harden scored a game-high 37 points for Houston, with the bench helping very little. The Warriors have now won 42 straight home games, just two shy of the Chicago Bulls’ record when Michael Jordan led them. Things clearly seem to be going well for Golden State, except for perhaps the fact that head coach Steve Kerr felt ill following the end of the game against Houston. Kerr sat out the first 43 games of the season due to complications from offseason back surgery. The All-Star Weekend break appears to have come at just the right time for him and the Warriors, for this reason alone.

Caption: OAKLAND, CA – FEBRUARY 09: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors drives on Ty Lawson #3 of the Houston Rockets at ORACLE Arena on February 9, 2016 in Oakland, California.