Jordan Poole and Draymond Green lead Warriors to comfortable win over Rockets

Most fans expected the Golden State Warriors to cruise to victory against the injured Houston Rockets, who entered Wednesday’s game with a 17-game losing streak. That was what ultimately happened, as the Golden State won 108-94, but for a few minutes the Warriors seemed to leave fans with a little bit of doubt.

Golden State shot 57.1 percent from the field but turned the ball over seven times in the opening quarter, with the offensive sloppiness leading to defensive sloppiness. Steph Curry led the way with 11 points after the first frame, helping the Dubs take a 31-27 lead that didn’t feel safe.

But the bench unit did a good job of pushing Golden State ahead in the second quarter. Jordan Poole scored nine points off the bench and helped the Warriors extend the lead to 12 less than seven minutes into the quarter.

It was all Dubs from then on. Poole and Andrew Wiggings combined to go seven-of-10 from beyond the arc in the first half as Golden State took a 24 point into the break.

It was a stellar first half for the Warriors. They shot 54.3 percent from the field and had seven players in double figures, while outscoring the Rockets by 20 in the second quarter alone Not only was the offense clicking, but the Dubs also held the lowly-Rockets to just 38.5 percent shooting forced Houston into committing 12 turnovers.

From there on, the Warriors kind of just coasted. They didn’t play well enough to increase the lead, but they never let Houston get fully back into it. The big news came at the end of the third quarter, when Curry suffered a tailbone contusion and had to leave the game. Hopefully he’s ready to go by Friday.

The Rockets did challenge a bit in the fourth quarter but the Warriors, led by Poole and Draymond Green, kept them at bay and hung on for a smooth victory. Poole led the Warriors with 23 points on a career-best six made threes, and Green had yet another triple-double, finishing with a season-high 16 points to go with 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

And most importantly, the Dubs are back in the win column.