Curry-less Warriors beat Rockets 114-110

“They were a little short-handed tonight”.

Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors goes to the basket against the Houston Rockets on December 31, 2015 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

In the shooting guard matchup Thompson led all scorers with 38 points and Harden provided 30 for his team.

“He’s one of those rare players in this league that affects the entire game just by being on the court”, Walton said. As ever, though, Houston’s biggest issues came at the defensive end, where they were beaten backdoor often and regularly lagged in transition to give up easy buckets.

The Warriors’ unselfishness was their hallmark.

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.

Andre Iguodala came off the bench to score 20 points, and Shaun Livingston added 13 points and seven assists as the starting point guard. Forward Draymond Green was limited to 11 points and nine rebounds.

Curry was injured Monday night against Sacramento and sat out Wednesday night at Dallas when the Warriors lost for just the second time this season, 114-91 to the Mavericks.

“In Dallas, we never put their defence under attack”.

Guard James Harden paced the Rockets (16-18) with 30 points, five rebounds and five assists while center Dwight Howard added 21 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.

Houston led by 3 points about 3 minutes later when Golden State scored 10 consecutive points to take a 88-80 lead with less than a minute left in the quarter. He won Thursday’s matchup against Houston’sJames Harden, another guy who would be in that conversation.

Still, Golden State’s offense was percolating out of the gate, with the Dubs scoring 33 points in the first quarter.

“I didn’t care about that, man”, Thompson said when asked about being the league’s top 2-guard. “Just let them talk and do whatever they’re going to do”. The Warriors shooting 67% through the first 15 minutes of the game. Green closed the half with a dozen assists, matching the National Basketball Association mark for one half this season. He is 17 of 22 from 3-point range in those games after going 5 of 7 against the Warriors.

Turnovers by the Warriors enabled the Rockets to get back into the game as Harden’s 3-pointer cut the lead to four points and jumper made it a three-point ballgame.

“Last night was embarrassing”, Thompson said. “He’s a really special talent”. This year they seem to play better against the best teams and they are losing many games against teams with losing records. Rockets F Terrence Jones returned to action after sitting out Tuesday night with flu-like symptoms. Kyle Lowry was held to 11 points but hit two crucial free throws in the final minute. The Warriors haven’t issued a timetable for Kerr’s return, but some believe he could be back soon and that Thursday’s game could be Walton’s last as interim coach.