The Warriors lose their 31-point lead, but avoid a late collapse with an OT win over the Rockets

HOUSTON – The Warriors blew a 31-point lead and looked completely out of shape in the fourth quarter, only to eventually prevail in overtime.

Against a surging Rockets team led by Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green, Golden State made 12 of its first 20 3-pointers and played stifling defense.

But as dominant as they were in the first half, they collapsed in the second half.

Ball pressure constantly caused problems for the Warriors' dribblers. Offensive possessions turned ugly. Houston's 3-point shots began to fall – just like the Warriors' 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 into overtime with two free throws after a foul that ended Green's night.

Even though Green committed a foul and Brandin Podziemski joined him two minutes into overtime, the Warriors still had enough energy to win the five-minute thriller.

Jonathan Kuminga personally outscored the Rockets 6-2 in overtime by taking advantage of Houston's shifting defense and being aggressive offensively.

“We thought we should try to get a few stops to go into overtime. That’s why we had (Andrew Wiggins), JK – we had a big, athletic lineup out there,” Steve Kerr said after the game. “That was key because we probably had five stops in a row 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 led the Warriors in scoring in five of six games – as well as clutch play from Podziemski, Golden State escaped with a 127-121 victory.

The bench scored 71 points and the Warriors made 15 of their 31 3-point shots despite being out of bounds in the second half.

Even though Golden State's defense gave up several baskets in the second half, Jalen Green, who entered the night averaging 27.6 points per game, and Fred VanVleet were cornered. Houston's starting field finished the game 4-for-25 with 18 combined points.

With their third win in a row, 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 visitors' locker room and said, “Hey guys, another win without Steph Curry.”

“If I’m honest, we’re all sick of hearing that (expletive),” Green said after the game. “Steph is Steph, and we all know it. But for some reason everyone acts like we can't play when Steph is out. We're all so tired of it. And there's even more motivation to win these three. If you think this wasn't mentioned, you're crazy. We're all NBA players, we're all-stars, first-round picks, whatever. And for some reason, every time Steph goes out, everyone's like, “Oh man, the world fell apart.”

“Now we want him out there, just like everyone else. But we are still performing.”
Last season, the Warriors went 3-5 without Curry. This year they are 3-0. They have a lot more depth to withstand absences from anyone, even their superstar point guard.

Moses Moody sank two three-pointers, one from each corner, to make it a 13-4 opening run. Wiggins, in his first game back after missing the previous two, continued to step up – first with his second three-pointer of the game and then by hitting Draymond Green with a cross-court advance pass for a basket.

When Rockets head coach Ime Udoka called his second timeout, the Warriors had built a 28-11 lead within eight minutes. Green stopped in the middle of the field, stretched both arms and shouted in satisfaction toward the visitors' 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 as they held Houston to 20 points on 33% shooting. Combine that with red-hot shooting and lightning-fast pace? After 12 minutes you have an 18 point lead.

Hield sank another three-pointer and sprinted down the court for a quick layup. Kuminga provided a jolt off the bench with 10 points in his first eight minutes. Golden State often kept Jalen Green off pick-and-rolls and gave Sengun multiple looks on the block.

To extend their lead to 59:31, the Warriors went on an 8-0 run. Kuminga practiced a pull-up 3 after completing the work at the post. Then fourth-year winger found Gary Payton II in the corner for a transition 3. It was the Warriors' 11th made 3 in 16 attempts.

The Warriors shot both 60% from the field and 3% and held their 28-point lead until halftime.
They controlled the pace of the game, just like they did against New Orleans (twice), Utah and Portland. But those teams were either depleted by injuries or had a significant talent shortage. The Rockets entered the game with a win over the Mavericks and have one of the deepest rosters in the league. They are well trained, persistent and can win in a variety of ways.

They were a great test. And they showed it in the second half.

Suddenly the Rockets stormed back. In the third quarter, they hit a series of their own threes to get within 6 inches. Then a 16-1 blitz early in the fourth quarter left the Warriors reeling.

Everything was going well for the Warriors in the first half. Then there was nothing. It was similar to so many of Golden State's low points from last season.

Five minutes into the final period, Eason parried his own miss to bring the score to 98. At that point, the Warriors had missed 15 foul shots. It often looked like the Warriors couldn't even get the ball more than half the court against Houston's ball pressure.

But Hield sank his sixth three-pointer and Podziemski added two tough shots to retake the lead. With two minutes left, Golden State held on to a four-point lead.

A minute later, Podziemski made a weak 15-footer to give the Warriors a six-point lead. He flexed both arms as Udoka took a timeout.

It wasn't over then, just like it wasn't half time. Jabari Smith Jr. hit a high three-pointer to bring the Rockets within two points, then Draymond Green threw away an inbounds pass with 15 seconds left. At the line, Eason tied the game with two free throws and sent the game into overtime.