Many anticipated that Golden State would lose their edge with Kevin Durant out of the lineup, but they've rattled off eight consecutive victories to stay at the top spot of the Western Conference. Their latest contest was a monstrous 113-106 win over Houston, who currently sit in third place. At the moment, the Rockets find themselves in a unique place where they're 7.5 games back of second place, but 6 games ahead of fourth place. They've essentially got the third seed locked in for the postseason. Both the warriors and Rockets will have a rematch on Friday night.
Warriors backcourt pave the way again
The Splash Brothers did their thing as usual, posting a combined 57 points and accounting for half of Golden State's offense. Stephen Curry (24.9 ppg, 6.5 apg) recorded a double-double featuring a team-high 32 points and 10 boards. Klay Thompson (22.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg) finished with 25 points. Neither of them were lights out from downtown (the team went 11-for-41 from 3-point range), but they did just enough to get the edge over the Rockets.
Despite being off from downtown, Draymond Green (10.4 ppg, 8.1 rpg) made 8-of-9 shots from inside the arc and finished with 19 points and 9 boards. The Warriors' defense did a respectable job against Houston, holding them to just 38.8 percent shooting on the night.
Rockets struggle on offense
Houston simply couldn't get things going as the first and second halves began. They found themselves in an early 37-20 deficit after the first 15 minutes, and they only scored 23 points in the third quarter. That inconsistency ultimately led to the loss despite a valiant effort to stay in the contest.
Six different players reached double figures for the Rockets. Shooting guard James Harden (29.3 ppg, 11.3 apg) recorded a triple-double with 24 points, 13 assists, and 11 boards. It was his first triple-double in the past four games after he was able to deliver four straight earlier in March. The rest of the backcourt starters, Patrick Beverley (9.3 ppg) and Eric Gordon (16.4 ppg), were limited to 10 points apiece.
