Reactions: Warriors 112, Rockets 116

Houston Rockets

116

112

Golden State Warriors

	David Lee, PF 37 MIN \| 8-13 FG \| 7-8 FT \| 10 REB \| 0 AST \| 1 STL \| 2 BLK \| 2 TO \| 23 PTS \| -7All-Star David Lee was on full display Friday night. Terrence Jones isn’t Serge Ibaka, but he’s a competent defender that had the potential of limiting an already struggling Lee. Instead, Lee showed signs of life for the first time this season with an incredibly efficient outing. As Curry and Thompson struggled from deep, Lee was there to pick up the slack as he made his presence known in the lane and managed to clean up the mess the Splash Brothers left him. He still is hesitant towards taking his patented elbow jumper — or any shot outside the painted area — but if he produces at this level of efficiency there will be little to complain about.
	Harrison Barnes, SF 38 MIN \| 9-16 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 12 REB \| 4 AST \| 1 STL \| 0 BLK \| 3 TO \| 20 PTS \| +8We know the potential of Barnes, and there’s still a question of whether he will ever reach that potential in this role, on this team. As for his contributions as of late, Barnes has played well in the absence of Iguodala and continued again with another strong performance. Many clamor for Barnes to limit his midrange jumpers and instead focus on his improved post-game using his incredible athleticism. He did just that tonight has 7/9 made field goals came in the restricted area. Again, Barnes was often found open from deep as a result of drive-and-kick’s or transition offense. He has those chances on a nightly basis and Barnes has a newfound confidence from beyond the arc as a result — he’s shooting nearly 40% from deep this season. On the defensive end, Chandler Parsons is one of the best young forwards in the league, and Barnes had trouble with him all night long. Houston does a fantastic job at spacing and creating driving lines. Parsons did a lot of damage inside and in transition while also nailing two threes. What can’t be overlooked: Barnes led the team with 12 rebounds, four of them being on the offensive end.
	Andrew Bogut, C 27 MIN \| 5-7 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 11 REB \| 2 AST \| 2 STL \| 1 BLK \| 2 TO \| 10 PTS \| -1Bogut had his toughest test of the season as he faced the best player at his position Friday night: Dwight Howard. Howard didn’t have an incredible offensive game — he only made five field goals — but his efficiency was off the charts. Bogut matched up with Howard when they were one-on-one, as much of Howard’s production came when he was out of the game or found himself away from him entirely. Bogut threw down a nasty left-handed alley from Thompson, but besides that it was a rather quiet night offensively from the center.
	Stephen Curry, PG 39 MIN \| 5-12 FG \| 9-11 FT \| 2 REB \| 9 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 6 TO \| 20 PTS \| -18Curry can have a bad shooting night and still give you 20+ points and nearly 10 assists during any given game. The Splash Brothers combined to shoot 2/12 from deep as the defense of Patrick Beverly, Chandler Parsons and James Harden limited the dynamic duo. Curry simply had trouble getting open as Beverly shadowed him extremely tight all night. Curry was limited on the defensive end as he got into foul trouble early, two of which being careless reach-ins. The good: 11 FT attempts is a great sign as Curry learns to draw contact and (gasp!) flop better. As hot as Curry has been, chalk this one up to the Rockets defense.
	Klay Thompson, SG 45 MIN \| 6-17 FG \| 2-3 FT \| 5 REB \| 5 AST \| 1 STL \| 2 BLK \| 3 TO \| 15 PTS \| -7The eerily consistent trend of Thompson fading against top teams continues as he struggled the entire game against a limited defender in Harden. Ironically, five of Thompson’s six made buckets came in the paint as he continues to rest the oft-used #Klayups moniker. Harden got his on the offensive end as limiting the All-Star is an extremely difficult task, especially given Thompson is 7th in the NBA in MPG. Whether it’s lack of rest or just tough matchups, Thompson has grown increasingly frustrating.

Not-So-Warriors-Friendly Highlight of the Night:

[youtube id=”XudkUhtHt38″ width=”600″ height=”350″]

A picture is worth a thousand words:

Looking ahead: The Warriors head to Phoenix for a quick one-game trip before heading home for three games next week (Pelicans, Spurs, Lakers)

Tweets of the night:

Just put Speights in now so I can start drinking

— Justin (@JGallagher24) December 14, 2013

Tough lost tonight, We will get the next one for sure…Thanks #dubnation for not giving up on me….#TMS #BPM

— Marreese Speights (@Mospeights16) December 14, 2013

Head up

— Harrison Barnes (@HBarnes) December 14, 2013

Follow @JRAM_91

	David Lee, PF 37 MIN \| 8-13 FG \| 7-8 FT \| 10 REB \| 0 AST \| 1 STL \| 2 BLK \| 2 TO \| 23 PTS \| -7All-Star David Lee was on full display Friday night. Terrence Jones isn’t Serge Ibaka, but he’s a competent defender that had the potential of limiting an already struggling Lee. Instead, Lee showed signs of life for the first time this season with an incredibly efficient outing. As Curry and Thompson struggled from deep, Lee was there to pick up the slack as he made his presence known in the lane and managed to clean up the mess the Splash Brothers left him. He still is hesitant towards taking his patented elbow jumper — or any shot outside the painted area — but if he produces at this level of efficiency there will be little to complain about.
	Harrison Barnes, SF 38 MIN \| 9-16 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 12 REB \| 4 AST \| 1 STL \| 0 BLK \| 3 TO \| 20 PTS \| +8We know the potential of Barnes, and there’s still a question of whether he will ever reach that potential in this role, on this team. As for his contributions as of late, Barnes has played well in the absence of Iguodala and continued again with another strong performance. Many clamor for Barnes to limit his midrange jumpers and instead focus on his improved post-game using his incredible athleticism. He did just that tonight has 7/9 made field goals came in the restricted area. Again, Barnes was often found open from deep as a result of drive-and-kick’s or transition offense. He has those chances on a nightly basis and Barnes has a newfound confidence from beyond the arc as a result — he’s shooting nearly 40% from deep this season. On the defensive end, Chandler Parsons is one of the best young forwards in the league, and Barnes had trouble with him all night long. Houston does a fantastic job at spacing and creating driving lines. Parsons did a lot of damage inside and in transition while also nailing two threes. What can’t be overlooked: Barnes led the team with 12 rebounds, four of them being on the offensive end.
	Andrew Bogut, C 27 MIN \| 5-7 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 11 REB \| 2 AST \| 2 STL \| 1 BLK \| 2 TO \| 10 PTS \| -1Bogut had his toughest test of the season as he faced the best player at his position Friday night: Dwight Howard. Howard didn’t have an incredible offensive game — he only made five field goals — but his efficiency was off the charts. Bogut matched up with Howard when they were one-on-one, as much of Howard’s production came when he was out of the game or found himself away from him entirely. Bogut threw down a nasty left-handed alley from Thompson, but besides that it was a rather quiet night offensively from the center.
	Stephen Curry, PG 39 MIN \| 5-12 FG \| 9-11 FT \| 2 REB \| 9 AST \| 0 STL \| 0 BLK \| 6 TO \| 20 PTS \| -18Curry can have a bad shooting night and still give you 20+ points and nearly 10 assists during any given game. The Splash Brothers combined to shoot 2/12 from deep as the defense of Patrick Beverly, Chandler Parsons and James Harden limited the dynamic duo. Curry simply had trouble getting open as Beverly shadowed him extremely tight all night. Curry was limited on the defensive end as he got into foul trouble early, two of which being careless reach-ins. The good: 11 FT attempts is a great sign as Curry learns to draw contact and (gasp!) flop better. As hot as Curry has been, chalk this one up to the Rockets defense.
	Klay Thompson, SG 45 MIN \| 6-17 FG \| 2-3 FT \| 5 REB \| 5 AST \| 1 STL \| 2 BLK \| 3 TO \| 15 PTS \| -7The eerily consistent trend of Thompson fading against top teams continues as he struggled the entire game against a limited defender in Harden. Ironically, five of Thompson’s six made buckets came in the paint as he continues to rest the oft-used #Klayups moniker. Harden got his on the offensive end as limiting the All-Star is an extremely difficult task, especially given Thompson is 7th in the NBA in MPG. Whether it’s lack of rest or just tough matchups, Thompson has grown increasingly frustrating.