Warriors diffuse Rockets, 127-120, for first road win
By Emmanuel Rivera, RRT PhilBoxing.com Mon, 21 Nov 2022
Klay Thompson returned to form and erupted for 41 points tonight against a young, scrappy Rockets team. It was a welcome relief for Warriors fans as vintage Thompson drained 10 treys and hit 14 of 23 attempts at the basket.
Not to be outdone, Steph Curry poured in 33 (seven 3-PT and 15 assists) as Golden State caused Houston all sorts of problems tonight.
Andrew Wiggins, aspiring Splash Brother number three, contributed 22 points, draining 6-11 three-pointers, for the Warriors.
Golden State beat a young, hungry Rockets team with zone defense which effectively contained the Rockets, to go 8-9 for this season---inching to 0.5 mark and slowly ascending to the 11th spot in the Western Division ranking.
The Warriors finally got their first coveted Dub on the road after going 0-8 away from home.
With the win, the Splash Brothers are back to steer the Warriors back to their winning ways.
“I was really wanting a game like this, so it felt great for me to just let that thing fly,” Thompson was quoted by ESPN and NBA.com and added, ”I can confidently say they’re open now,” referring to his own Instagram post last week saying, ‘The Floodgates will open’ (for him and the Warriors).
Of great interest, with 40 seconds left, Curry flashed his trademark ‘nighty-night’ after draining a beautiful rainbow trey that iced the game---a bookend to Klay Thompson’s nifty layup in the first few seconds of the game.
Curry reminisced with glee about his 3-pointed rainbow shot near the end of the game.
“I surprised myself,” Curry said to ESPN and NBA.com and added, “Draymond and I put our hands above our heads like we really won something…”
As a team, Golden State shot 53.5% FG and 51.1% 3-PT and was nothing short of spectacular.
The Warriors struck early in the first quarter with an 11-0 run sparked by a pretty drive from Thompson. The Warriors took the first quarter 20-28, but in the second quarter Houston retaliated with a 17-2 run and took the lead 65-61 by halftime. The third, fourth quarters and later the game went the way of the Warriors with consistent ball handling and better defense.
The opposing team Houston Rockets shot a respectable 45.6% FG, but was so-so with 33.3% 3 PT.
Houston fielded competitive young guns like Kevin Porter, Jr. who scored 30 points, followed by Jabari Smith, Jr. with 22, and rookie Tari Eason who dropped 10 points.
Back in the first quarter, Filipino-American Jalen Green drove to the basket and showed his potential by converting an assist from Garuba with an emphatic sideways dunk.
Upcoming:
Golden State Warriors: Ride their 2-game win streak as they visit Smoothie King Center, NOLA for their rematch with the Pelicans on Monday night, November 22, 2022.
Houston Rockets: Host the Atlanta Hawks on Friday Night (after Thanksgiving), November 25, 2022.
Note of appreciation:
The photos, stats and video in this article are courtesy of the NBA and brought to you by PhilBoxing.com and our editor-in-chief Mr. Dong Secuya.
