Steve Kerr became the fastest coach in the history of the four major sports to 200 wins after the Warriors earned a 113-106 victory in Houston on Tuesday night. Stephen Curry recorded his third-straight double-double and led all scorers with 32 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter. Klay Thompson added 25 points and five three-pointers, while Draymond Green contributed 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists. With the win, Golden State improves to 60-14 on the season, becoming the sixth team in NBA history with three-straight 60-win seasons.
GAME LEADERS
Golden State led from start to finish, but the game was a tale of two stories. The Warriors shot out of the gate to build a large early lead behind tremendously efficient offense, but their shooting luck would fade away as the game wore on, and it remained a close contest through the vast majority of the second half.
The Warriors made seven of their first eight field goal attempts to start the game, jumping out to a 16-8 lead on Klay Thompson’s first three-pointer just under four minutes into the opening quarter. He’d sink another trey at the 4:43 mark to ignite a 13-2 Warriors run that would build their lead to 37-18 on Shaun Livingston’s dunk with nine seconds remaining before James Harden converted a layup just prior to the quarter buzzer.
Thompson, who led all scorers with 11 points in the opening frame, nearly doubled that total in the first four minutes of the second with another three three-pointers to give Golden State their first 20-point lead of the game with 7:56 left in the first half. But after Ian Clark scored, Houston reeled off nine consecutive points and would eventually close within 58-50 on James Harden’s two free throws with 52 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Both teams would play it even from there, as the Warriors took a 60-52 advantage into halftime. Houston made 18 of their 20 free throw attempts through the first two quarters, compared to just 1-of-2 for Golden State.
Draymond Green followed another Thompson three-pointer with a layup as part of a 5-0 Warriors’ burst to start the second half, but he went to the locker room with an ankle injury 34 seconds later, and Houston continued to close in on Golden State during his absence. By the time Green returned to the game at the 4:16 mark, the Rockets had cut the deficit to 80-75 on another two Harden free throws. His return seemed to settle the Warriors, however, as they’d end the quarter on a 6-0 run to rebuild their lead to double digits heading into the fourth and final frame. After making 5-of-10 three-pointers in the first quarter, Golden State made just 5-of-25 through the next two. Luckily for them, Houston had made just three of their 22 three-point attempts up to that point in the contest.
The Rockets opened the fourth quarter on a 5-0 burst to cut the deficit to six points just over a minute into the frame. Stephen Curry scored Golden State’s next five points to halt Houston’s momentum, but he was forced to the bench after picking up his fifth foul at 8:21 mark with the Warriors in front 91-82. He’d be heard from again before things were all said and done, however. The two sides would trade scores until Lou Williams followed another three Harden free throws with two of his own to pull the Rockets within 99-94 with 4:20 left to play. Curry re-entered the game at that point, and Houston never got closer again. After Patrick Beverley scored at the 2:57 mark to trim the difference to 105-99, Curry followed a swing-through jumper by Green with a 26-foot three-pointer to put Golden State back up 11 with 1:46 remaining.
One minute later, after Houston scored five-straight points in response, Curry provided one final blow to the Rockets with a one-footed step-back jumper, as the Warriors finished off the eventual 113-106 victory.
With the victory, the Warriors improve to 60-14 and clinch their third consecutive 60-win season after never reaching the 60-win plateau in 68 years prior. They’ll put their eight-game winning streak on the line when they finish off their final road back-to-back sequence in San Antonio on Wednesday night.