The Golden State Warriors have survived an almighty scare to claim a 127-121 victory over the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on Saturday.
After leading by 31 during an explosive first-half, the Warriors were taken to overtime following a furious Rockets comeback that was aided by some poor free-throw shooting and some ill-advised turnovers from the visitors.
The Warriors held on in a rollercoaster game against the Rockets
It was a tale of two halves from Golden State who could have hardly played better in the first 24 minutes. They posted 71 points in the first-half to build a 28-point lead, led by 14 points apiece from Buddy Hield and Jonathan Kuminga off the bench.
The Rockets pegged back the margin in the third, but the Warriors still entered the fourth with a sizeable 16-point advantage. That quickly evaporated though in stunning fashion, with Houston tying the game with still over seven minutes remaining.
Golden State steadied enough to rebuild a five-point lead with 20 seconds to play, but a Jabari Smith Jr. three was followed by a careless Warrior turnover and two made free-throws from Tari Eason to force overtime.
With Draymond Green having fouled out late in regulation and Brandin Podziemski also exiting early in overtime, it was Jonathan Kuminga who stood up to eventually lead the Warriors to victory.
Kuminga had six of Golden State's eight points in the overtime period, while there was a lid on the Houston end as they were limited to just two points in the five-minute span. The Warriors thus escaped with an extraordinary victory, having staved off history in what would have been the biggest margin any team had come back from against the franchise in their regular season history.
Still playing without Stephen Curry and De'Anthony Melton, the six-point victory is nonetheless an impressive one for Golden State regardless of the incredible rollercoaster. Their level in the first-half was exceptional given Curry's absence, and their maturity to hold on in the face of a Houston barrage showed maturity they may not have shown in a similar situation last season.
Hield finished with an equal game-high 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting including 6-of-10 from three-point range, while also adding seven rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes of action. Kuminga had an efficient 23 points and six rebounds on 7-of-12 shooting, having also finished the game as a team-high +18.
Green had a double-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds and three assists before fouling out, while the returning Andrew Wiggins had 15 points and was agressive in his 31 minutes. Podziemski was the other Warrior in double figure scoring with 12 which included some important buckets in the fourth-quarter.
Despite shooting an efficient 51.3% from the floor and 46.9% from three-point range, Golden State kept Houston in the game with 18 missed free-throws (32-of-50 overall). The Rockets were limited to just 41.1% from the floor and 33.3% from beyond the arc, while they benefited from nine more offensive rebounds.
The Warriors now move to 5-1 after the first of a five-game road-trip, with Jordan Poole and the Washington Wizards up next at Capital One Arena on Monday.
