NBA -- Curry-less Warriors handle Rockets, 114-110
By Homer D. Sayson
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 02 Jan 2016
CHICAGO -- Even without reigning MVP Steph Curry, the Golden State Warriors had more than enough weapons to dispose the sliding Houston Rockets, 114-110, Thursday night at the Toyota Center.
Klay Thompson, the other half of Golden State's Splash Brothers, took his game to another level and dropped 38 points as the Warriors surged to a league-leading 30-2 record. Thompson, the son of former Laker Mychal Thompson, made 16 of 27 field goals and crushed the Rockets with six 3s.
It was a big bounce back win for the Warriors, who were clobbered by the Dallas Mavericks, 114-91, on December 30 at the American Airlines Arena.
"We had every excuse in the world, but we didn't want to come away 0-2 so we figured out this would be a much bigger statement win if we responded like we did and won with playing 10 guys," Thompson told NBA.com.
As brilliant as Thompson was, he got plenty of help from a Warriors team that attacked Houston with 35 assists while shooting 53.2 percent from the field (43 of 84) and 47.8 percent from 3-point range (11 of 23).
Draymond Green, who signed an $85 million contract extension to stay with the Warriors last summer, proved worth of his newly-minted dollars by serving up a triple-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 16 assists. Andre Iguodala added 20 points and four dimes off the bench while Shaun Livingston pumped 13 points in place of Curry at starting point guard.
After trailing 61-58 at the half, the Rockets, who shot a high 46.2 percent from the field (36 of 78), caught their stride and took a 71-68 advantage. But they surrendered 46 points the rest of the way to fall to 16-18 for the season, 7th place in the Western Conference and 15 games behind the Warriors.
"We played a pretty good game up until the end of the third quarter when they went on that run. Just giving up small buckets like that to a really good team is something you couldn't really do," said Harden, who topped Houston with 30 points.
Dwight Howard had a huge presence with 21 points and 13 boards but Houston still got out-rebounded by Golden State, 43-33. (HDS)
Photo: Klay Thompson proved too hot to handle for the Houston Rockets, scoring 38 points in the Warriors' 114-110 victory.
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