The Warriors’ game against the Houston Rockets on Saturday was a must-win for Golden State. And they prevailed convincingly.
Their 125-109 victory had strong banking performances, well-rounded contributions and early energy – all that was lacking 24 hours earlier against the Washington Wizards.
“It’s a tough league to win, and every time you win, it feels good,” Kent Bazemore said. “But if you look at our last three games, you take away the results and break down the film, I think we’re getting better … We’ve building the momentum and the confidence to give ourselves a chance to win. to touch on these losses of 10, 15 points and give ourselves a chance to move on. ‘
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves by talking about how this could be the game the Warriors keep talking about.
Could it be? Certainly. But how many of the games were there already? Very. And how much has actually changed in a run? No.
To say that it does not take away from the positives that the Warriors showed Saturday night.
“Our aggression was there and defensively we communicated enough to keep guys in front of us,” Steph Curry said. “[We did] do not take our foot off the gas pedal, even though we had an advantage. ‘
The Warriors bench finally looks like it’s getting traction. After Golden State took a four-point lead against the Wizards on Friday, the second unit outscored Houston’s 45-27. It included a 15-4 run to open the second quarter in which they forced twice and held the Rockets to just two field goals. Jordan Poole looked aggressive again and finished with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, while Mychal Mulder managed to have a strong ten-point game after not playing in the final three.
Another positive point was the well-distributed score. There is always the question who is going to help Steph Curry with the score? And because Kelly Oubre Jr. Missed Saturday’s game with a left wrist spur, even more points had to be scored.
Well, Curry scored 38 points – his sixth consecutive game with at least 30 – and was helped by three players. Andrew Wiggins bagged 25 points while Poole beat his 21-man squad, and Kent Bazemore, who started in place of Oubre, added nine points and played a solid defense, getting involved in areas not appearing on the state not.
The final improvement was the energy with which the Warriors played from the jump.
The Warriors led 11 of the 12 minutes of the first quarter and had control all night. Every time it looked like the Rockets were going to make a turn, the Warriors kept them at a distance.
If Golden State can start every game like against Houston, winning will look much less like a reach.
So, with all these words said, the Warriors’ game was encouraging. But again, these would mean that you have to spend for these processes.
RELATED: Wiseman will undergo MRI on right knee
It is commendable that the Warriors have been 2-1 at home so far, but truly, their victory over the Bucks – the team with the third best record in the Eastern Conference – should have been more of a spark than their victory against the 14-39 Rockets.
“Whatever I have to say to just win games, I will say, too,” Curry said. “I do not like a situation where you do not put together good performances. Whatever it is, the underdog, late bloomers, whatever it is, we just have to figure out how to put a string together and start playing.” a good good basketball night in and out tonight in these last 19 games. ‘
And with the Denver Nuggets, who have an eight-game winning streak, coming to Chase Center on Monday – oh, and the possibility that the Warriors will be without Oubre and James Wiseman – it’s hard to say Golden State will be with the same rhythm than they had on Saturday.
Download and subscribe to the Dubs Talk Podcast