The Rockets have been had a great start to the season and they’ve done so without Dwight Howard for the last nine games. Tonight will be no different, the Rockets were without Howard, but were still hoping to be the team that breaks the streak. The Warriors came into the game without Andrew Bogut, but his injury is not serious and should be back soon.
James Harden was also questionable coming into the game, but the Rockets needed him if they wanted to win the game. Without the two defensive centers, this game was slated to be dominated by the guards, which would make for a great offensive display.
1st Quarter
The Dubs got off to a quick 5-0 start and the crowd at Oracle was roaring. The Rockets got back on track and were able to get some buckets themselves. Patrick Beverly scored five quick points midway through the quarter. Harden also had a strong start for the Rockets, he had 8 points with about two minutes left in the first. Speights gave the Warriors a spark off the bench and was able to score 4 points in the final minute. The Rockets showed why they’ve been winning games and Harden was aggressive. The Rockets led 30-23 as they went into the second. Festus Ezeli led the Warriors with 7 points.
Harrison Barnes with the back-2-back pump fake! https://t.co/rim9ruy8vf @warriorsworld
— Alex Torres (@alextorresww) December 11, 2014
2nd Quarter
Donatas Motiejunas was active to start the second quarter, he made two quick buckets and their lead grew to 11. Speights and Thompson responded and cut the lead to two with about 8 minutes left in the half. Then, both teams went on a cold streak, both teams didn’t score for about four minutes. It wasn’t until hit a bank shot with a little over three minutes left in the game. It looked like the Warriors were going into the half with a deficit, but they found some offense late in the quarter. Barnes hit a three and Curry matched him on the following possession. Curry then took over the game and was able to tie the game for the Dubs. He finished with 11 Points.
Steph with the nice and-one! https://t.co/4z3OOcPvzT @warriorsworld — Alex Torres (@alextorresww) December 11, 2014
3rd Quarter
Barnes and Thomson were aggressive to start the second half and gave the Warriors a four point lead. The Rockets were able to score too and keep this game close. Ariza kept them in it with two from long distance and tied the game at at 54. Barnes had been great so far and responded with a three of his own. This was going to be a tight one, you could feel it. At this point they were just trading blows. It wasn’t pretty to watch, but both teams were fighting for the win. It was the Ariza and Barnes show in the third quarter. Ariza with 16 though three quarters and Barnes had 15. Harden was able to pick up a Beverly miss and hit a shot to end the quarter. The Rockets took a three point lead into the final quarter.
HB’s best game of the year.
— warriorsworld (@warriorsworld) December 11, 2014
4th Quarter
Both teams were scoring, but there wasn’t much defense being played. The Warriors had a few careless turnovers, which you can’t have in a close game like this. Not team could really pull away, but the Rockets maintained a three point lead with nine minutes remaining in the quarter. Livingston had a good start to the quarter, you could tell he’s really finding a groove with this team. He got the crowd going with a slam midway through the final period. This game was close and you could feel that it was going to come down to the final minute. Forget everything I just wrote, the Warriors turned it on and took it to another level. The took an 11 point lead after six minutes of great play from the Dubs. Houston couldn’t keep up at this point. Oracle was rocking and the Warriors just needed to hang on. The Warriors finished strong and beat the Rockets 105-93.
Draymond with the monster Slam! https://t.co/4IVlEXQHqZ @warriorsworld
— Alex Torres (@alextorresww) December 11, 2014
