With their 116-108 defeat against the Houston Rockets (32-12) in their second showdown at Toyota Center on Saturday night, the Warriors’ (37-10) extensive road winning streak was snapped at 14, which tied a franchise record and came within two wins of the NBA record of 16.
It was Golden State’s first loss of the season in four games where they’ve trailed by double-digits after the first quarter. Throughout the game, the Rockets capitalized on their 46 rebounds and 19 turnovers by the Warriors to come out on top.
Because of his recent hamstring injury that sidelined him for seven games, James Harden was limited to 34 minutes in his second game back, but caught fire early, three three-pointers and 11 points, finishing the game with 22 points and five three-point shots. Kevin Durant paced the Warriors with 11 points and was 3-3 at the three-point line in the first, but the Rockets held a commanding 40-28 lead at the end of the quarter.
The Warriors were able to gradually chip away at their deficit before halftime with a strong contribution from David West, who scored eight points and was 4-5 from the field after two quarters. He finished the game with eight points and two blocks.
The score remained within seven in favor of the Rockets for most of the third quarter until Stephen Curry, who finished the game with 19 points, drained a three-pointer that brought the Warriors within one of taking the lead. The Warriors ended the third quarter trailing by one, but back-to-back three-point shots from Draymond Green, who had 21 points and six assists in the game, gave Golden State its first leads since the first quarter. What followed was back-and-forth battle that came out with the Rockets on top.
Although Harden returned in time to face the Warriors after missing Houston’s previous matchup with Golden State, the Rockets were short-handed without Trevor Ariza and Gerald Green, who served the second of their two-game suspension after their post-game altercation with the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night. In Ariza’s absence, Luc Mbah a Moute started and put up 14 points and four rebounds.
Andre Iguodala missed his second straight game with a lingering left calf injury, but Green returned to the court after missing Wednesday’s game against the Chicago Bulls shoulder soreness.