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This was the marquee matchup a lot of us Golden State Warriors fans were looking forward to and boy did it live up to its billing. Despite the Warriors winning 124-114 over the Houston Rockets, the majority of the game was much closer than what the final score indicated.
The Rockets were missing James Harden and the Warriors were without Kevin Durant, but the two best offenses in the league hardly looked like they missed a beat in a tightly-contested game that stayed neck-and-neck until the final frame.
In Durant’s absence, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson delivered a classic “Splash Brothers” game, combining to score 57 points with 10 three-pointers. It was Curry who came out the gate continuing his scoring flurry since returning back from injury. But as the game went on, Thompson caught fire and never cooled off.
This @KlayThompson #SPLASH caps a 10-2 Warriors run to end the half. (TNT) #NBAVote pic.twitter.com/cf08JeWZxJ
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) January 5, 2018
Catch, shoot, #SPLASH Stephen Curry #NBAVote pic.twitter.com/mYmKuSGTMp
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) January 5, 2018
But the Rockets had the perfect counter in Chris Paul and Eric Gordon, as they combined for 58 points themselves. Gordon especially came out strong and helped fill the scoring void left behind in Harden’s absence.
What ultimately decided this game, though, boiled down to the production of each teams’ reserve units and one Draymond Green.
Green notched himself another triple-double and played another excellent game on both ends of the floor. He had a few ugly turnovers, but the rest of his game made up plenty for those.
Sweet pass from D-West sets up @Money23Green dunk. (TNT) #NBAVote pic.twitter.com/XUQpNleMzY
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) January 5, 2018
For the Rockets, though, it was recently-signed Gerald Green who gave his team a huge boost off of the bench. The career 36% three-point shooter had one of the best games of his career, hitting eight of them against the Warriors and always seemingly at points where they were trying to make a run.
Golden State’s response came in the form of another stellar performance by David West, and timely scoring by Nick Young and Andre Iguodala (who started in place of Durant). They would combine for 33 points total to help give the Warriors the edge in the end.
Klay dishes, Andre slams. (TNT) pic.twitter.com/thBvF52uRl
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) January 5, 2018
If we do end up meeting these guys in the playoffs, this looks like it could be quite the series — especially with Durant and Harden back in the lineups.
Poll
Who is the Warrior Wonder for the win in Houston on Jan 4?
This poll is closed
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24%
Steph Curry
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0%
Andre Iguodala
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0%
Zaza Pachulia
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14%
Klay Thompson
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43%
Draymond Green
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0%
Nick Young
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0%
Pat McCaw
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13%
Kevon Looney
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0%
Shaun Livingston
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1%
David West
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0%
Jordan Bell