HOUSTON — The Warriors blew a 31-point lead and looked completely out of sorts in the fourth quarter, only to ultimately hold on in overtime.
Facing an upstart Rockets team led by Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green, Golden State hit 12 of its first 20 3-pointers and played smothering defense.
But as dominant as they were in the first half, they collapsed just as hard in the second.
Ball pressure gave Warriors dribblers constant trouble. Offensive possessions became ugly. Houston’s 3-point shots started to fall — just like the Warriors’ did in the first half.
And when they could have sealed the game in regulation, the Warriors gave up a 3 and Draymond Green threw away an inbounds pass. Tari Eason sent the game to overtime with two free throws on a foul that ended Green’s night.
Even though Green had fouled out, and Brandin Podziemski joined him two minutes into the overtime period, the Warriors still had enough juice to win the five-minute nail-biter.
Jonathan Kuminga personally outscored the Rockets 6-2 in overtime, taking advantage of Houston’s switching defense and being aggressive offensively.
“We thought let’s try to get some stops to start overtime, that’s why we had (Andrew Wiggins), JK — we had a big, athletic lineup out there,” Steve Kerr said postgame. “That was the key because we got probably five straight stops to start overtime, and then JK just took over at the other end.”
Behind Kuminga and Buddy Hield (27 points and six 3-pointers) — who has led the Warriors in scoring in five of six games — along with clutch play from Podziemski, Golden State escaped with a 127-121 win.
The bench tallied 71 points and the Warriors, despite getting run off the arc in the second half, hit 15 of their 31 3-pointers.
Even though Golden State’s defense bled buckets in the second half, it bottled up Jalen Green, who entered the night averaging 27.6 points per game, and Fred VanVleet. The Houston starting backcourt finished 4-for-25 for 18 combined points.
With a third straight victory, the Warriors have already won as many games without Steph Curry as they did last season. Right after the game, Draymond Green walked into the visitor’s locker room and said, “Hey, fellas, another win without Steph Curry.”
“If I’m honest, we’re all sick and tired of hearing that (expletive),” Green said postgame. “Steph is Steph, and we all know that. But, for some reason, when Steph’s out, everybody acts like we can’t play. We’re all so sick of it. And there’s been added motivation to win these three. If you think that hasn’t been mentioned, you’re out of your mind. We’re all NBA players, we’re All-Stars, first-round picks, you name it. And for some reason, every time Steph goes out, everybody acts like, ‘Oh man, the world has collapsed.’
“Now, we want him out there, just like everybody else does. But we’re still capable of performing.”
Last season, the Warriors went 3-5 without Curry. This year, they’re 3-0. They have much more depth to withstand absences to anyone, even their superstar point guard.
Moses Moody sank a pair of 3s, one from each corner, to key a 13-4, game-opening run. Wiggins, in his first game back after missing the previous two, kept piling on — first with his second 3 of the game and then by hitting Draymond Green with a cross-court advance pass for a bucket.
By the time Rockets head coach Ime Udoka called his second timeout, the Warriors had built a 28-11 lead in eight minutes. Green stopped by midcourt and flexed both arms, screaming with satisfaction toward the visitor’s bench. They hit eight of their first 10 3-pointers, including three straight from Hield off the bench.
The Warriors intend to make defense their identity this season, and it showed in the first quarter when they held Houston to 20 points on 33% shooting. Marry that with blazing-hot shooting and lightning-fast tempo? You get an 18-point lead after 12 minutes.
Hield sank another 3 and sprinted down the court for a fast-break layup. Kuminga provided a jolt off the bench with 10 points in his first eight minutes. Golden State often trapped Jalen Green off pick-and-rolls and threw multiple looks at Sengun on the block.
To expand their lead to 59-31, the Warriors went on an 8-0 run. Kuminga drilled a pull-up 3 after getting work done in the post. Then the fourth-year wing found Gary Payton II in the corner for a transition 3. It was the Warriors’ 11th made 3 in 16 tries.
Shooting both 60% from the field and 3, the Warriors held that 28-point lead steady into halftime.
They controlled the tempo of the game, just as they did against New Orleans (twice), Utah and Portland. But those teams were either depleted with injuries or at a significant talent deficit. The Rockets entered the game off a victory over the Mavericks and boast one of the deepest rosters in the league. They’re well-coached, hard-nosed and can win in multiple ways.
They were a big test. And in the second half, they showed as much.
Suddenly, the Rockets stormed back. They hit a bundle of their own 3s in the third quarter to inch within 16. Then a 16-1 blitz to start the fourth quarter had the Warriors reeling.
Everything was working for the Warriors in the first half. Then, nothing was. It resembled so many of Golden State’s lowlights from last season.
Five minutes into the final period, Eason put back his own miss to knot the score at 98. At that point, the Warriors had missed 15 foul shots. It often looked like the Warriors couldn’t even bring the ball over half court against Houston’s ball pressure.
But Hield sank his sixth 3 and Podziemski added a pair of tough buckets inside to reclaim the lead. With two minutes left, Golden State clung to a four-point lead.
A minute later, Podziemski nailed a fading 15-footer to give the Warriors a six-point cushion. He flexed both arms as Udoka called a timeout.
It wasn’t over then, just like it wasn’t at halftime. Jabari Smith Jr. nailed a deep 3 to bring the Rockets within two, then Draymond Green threw away an inbounds pass with 15 seconds left. At the line, Eason tied the game with two free throws, sending the game into overtime.
But Kuminga took over in overtime. He got a quick turnaround on the post to go, then finished again in transition. Out of a timeout, the Warriors cleared a side for him, and he beat his man off the dribble for a left-handed finish. Kuminga, the closer, scored six of his 23 points in overtime.
“Nobody is going to stop me from where I want to go,” Kuminga said postgame. “It’s not going to happen every time, but the mindset is just getting anybody wherever I want them to go. I was more comfortable getting to the rim than doing other things — why settle when I can get to the rim? That’s the mentality.”
It wasn’t as convincing as it could have been. But even without Curry and De’Anthony Melton (back strain), the Warriors proved that their abundance of capable players can handle a playoff-caliber team. Whether it can hang with the league’s best will be determined later this road trip in Boston, Cleveland and Oklahoma City.
“Great experience,” Kerr said. “To win after Draymond fouls out, to win without Steph, to win on a night where the game just completely flipped. As good as we were in the first half, they basically went small and switched everything and caused us a lot of problems. It’s great to have that game on tape, it’s great to feel it.”
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