San Francisco – No Stephen Curry or Draymond Green? No problem. The Warriors, missing their two best players, stifled the Rockets to snap their five-game losing streak. Jonathan Kuminga was unstoppable, scoring a career-high 33 points to lead Golden State to a 99-93 victory over Houston.
“I think it’s a good learning lesson,” said Kuminga on the ball in his hands late in the fourth. “Obviously, we go off Steph (Curry) most of the time. Just having the experience of knowing what you need to do out there. Anytime, even when Steph comes back and Draymond (Green) comes back, you never know when moments like this will come around. My teammates and my coaches trusted me in that moment. Just keep learning, keep building from there.”
The Warriors had struggled to close out games during their losing skid, often faltering in the fourth quarter. Golden State head coach Steve Kerr addressed the team’s fourth-quarter woes, saying:
“It feels like we’re slowing the pace down a little bit. Our pace was great the other night, and we were walking the ball up the floor for the last five or six minutes. The fourth-quarter defense in this five-game stretch has been poor. I think we’re fifth in points allowed per possession over the last 10 games. So it’s not like this is a hot start defensively that’s cooled off completely.
There’s just been stretches in the fourth of a lot of these games where the other team has caught fire, and that’s a big part of the modern NBA. It’s a connection of the game, can we get stops, can we maintain our pace, can we execute? That’s how you close games.”
The Warriors improved to 9-1 tonight when recording 50 or more rebounds. Brandin Podziemski grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds (previously 11, achieved three times), while Kevon Looney matched his season-high with 11 rebounds for the second consecutive game (fourth time overall this season).
“We needed it a lot,” Looney said on the win tonight. “Especially the way we won it. We had a lot of close games where we were up, and kind of gave away the lead. This game was kind of the same. We were up; then they were fighting back in the fourth to close it out. But without our two best players, really. But it was really big for us, and it showed our identity: we play fast, we play scrappy, and if we play defense at the level we’re capable of, we can win. So it was a big game for us.”
It also marked Looney’s seventh game with double-digit rebounds this season. Golden State’s defense was key, holding Houston to just 37.6% shooting from the field, improving their record to 5-0 this season when limiting opponents to under 40% shooting.
The Warriors are now 24-39 all-time in games without Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, including 1-0 this season (1-3 last season).
The Warriors and Rockets will meet again on December 11 in Houston for the Quarterfinal/Knockout Round of the Emirates NBA Cup. With the addition of the NBA Cup game, the teams will face off five times this season. Tonight marked Golden State’s 13th clutch game—defined as a game within five points during the final five minutes—including the last seven games consecutively.
Up Next: The Warriors host the Timberwolves tomorrow night (7 p.m.) and Sunday (5:30 p.m.) at Chase Center.
Warriors’ Injuries Pile Up at Crucial Time for NBA Cup
The Warriors started the season strong, leading the pack in the Western Conference. Still, a recent five-game losing streak has significantly hurt their chances of qualifying for the NBA Emirates Cup. They’ll need to beat a surging Houston Rockets team next Tuesday, to stay in contention. Before that, however, Golden State faces the Rockets tonight in a critical game they must win to keep their postseason hopes alive.
Stephen Curry (bilateral knee soreness) and Draymond Green (left calf tightness) are sidelined for tonight’s matchup, a tough blow for the veteran duo to be absent at such a pivotal moment. On a brighter note, Andrew Wiggins, who was listed as questionable, has been cleared to start. A win tonight would keep the Warriors in the mix during a tightly contested Western Conference race.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr shared his thoughts on managing the team’s injuries in the long term, stating:
“Steph’s knee stuff the last couple weeks, with three in four games, and he’s in pain. Yeah, we’re not playing him. We can’t play him through this stretch every game and expect him to get through it. I thought he looked really good in Denver. To me, he looked more active and more agile, but we have to help him get through the woods on this one.
Same thing with Draymond, otherwise you’re chasing your tail and guys end up missing weeks at a time. It’s nothing more than training staff helping them get through the woods and hopefully, over the long haul that means they end up playing more games than they otherwise would have.”
Houston’s head coach, Ime Udoka, was asked about capitalizing on the Warriors’ recent losing streak. He responded:
“I think, for us, the main thing is to continue to play the way we have been playing. But we understand the importance for them, a team that’s down is a desperate team. They got some guys in and out of the lineup, but that didn’t stop them before. They obviously jumped out to a big lead against us last time without (Stephen) Curry and some guys missing.
We got it back to overtime, but I didn’t love our attentiveness at the start of the game, and we can’t have that tonight. We understand how tight the race is in the West, and I think obviously they want to get back on the right path, and we’ll see them again in a few days, so it’s a good barometer for us as well.”
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