What we learned as Steph goes cold in Warriors' heated loss to Rockets

What we learned as Steph goes cold in Warriors' heated loss to Rockets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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SAN FRANCISCO – The NBA’s two hottest teams stood face-to-face Sunday at Chase Center. 

The Warriors entered the day winners in 14 of their last 17 games. The Houston Rockets had won 14 of their last 16. Golden State, at least for one game, lost its steam and fell 106-96 in another game full of NBA playoff implications. 

With a win, the Warriors would have been the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. Instead, they dropped from No. 5 back into the No. 6seed amid a four-way tie between Golden State, the Los Angeles Clippers (No. 5), Memphis Grizzlies (No. 7) and the Minnesota Timberwolves (No. 8).

Sunday was the fifth game the Warriors have played against the Rockets this season, marking the first time Golden State has gone against one team five times since the 1994-95 NBA season. 

Steph Curry had an uncharacteristically quiet game and was held to three points on 1-of-10 shooting, while going 1 of 8 shooting threes. Brandin Podziemski continued his strong scoring stretch and dropped 19 points, including four threes, but the rest of the starting five combined to score 21 points. What kept the Warriors in the game was 3-point shooting and really strong bench play.

Houston’s advantages in length and athleticism was extremely evident. Though the Warriors made six more threes than the Rockets, they were crushed in a handful of clear categories. The Warriors and Rockets each had 11 steals, but Houston swatted seven blocked shots. The Rockets outscored the Warriors 26-12 in fastbreak points and 56-40 with points in the paint.

Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ five-game win streak coming to an end.

Steph’s Silent Night 

From a historic standpoint, Curry’s previous three games were about as good as it gets. Curry in three consecutive games dropped 52, 37 and 36 points, giving him a total of 125. He joined Michael Jordan and LeBron James as the only three players at least 35 years old to score that many points in a three-game span. 

Curry then was held scoreless on just two shot attempts in the first quarter against the Rockets. In the second quarter, Curry only took one shot – nailing a deep three with only one second left on the clock for his first points of the game.

That three moved Curry ahead of Reggie Miller for 24th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

Through three quarters, Curry was stuck at three points on 1-of-8 shooting and had only made one of his six shots from beyond the arc. He played eight minutes in the fourth quarter and was held scoreless.

Credit where credit is due. Dillon Brooks, Amen Thompson and Fred VanVleet have to be commended for how they hounded Curry from start to finish.

Bench Buddies

The first two players coach Steve Kerr plucked from the bench were Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield, replacing Jimmy Butler and Podziemski. Kerr’s call quickly was rewarded. Not even a minute later, Hield hit a three from the right corner to give the Warriors a one-point lead. 

Immediately after, Hield then closed out a Tari Eason 3-point attempt and forced an airball that wasn’t even close. Hield and Kuminga gave the Warriors great minutes in the first quarter as the bench outscored the Rockets’ reserves 14-3. Both Hield and Kuminga were a plus-6 in the first quarter, with Hield scoring six points on two threes and Kuminga adding five points. 

But after two straight offensive blunders in the second quarter, Kerr pulled Kuminga and gave Gui Santos his first run of the night. Kuminga didn’t play the rest of the first half, but the Warriors were winning the bench battle 27-15 behind 11 points from Gary Payton II and nine by Hield.

Kuminga bounced back and was plus-9 in 19 minutes with nine points and seven rebounds. Hield’s 20 points and six 3-pointers led the Warriors. In his previous three games, Hield scored a total of 13 points and went 3 of 13 on 3-pointers. Payton (16 points, five rebounds and three steals) and Kevon Looney (11 rebounds with six on defense and five on offense) played huge roles as well.

The Hate Is Real 

No matter the year or the roster, one thing was made certain: These two teams can’t stand each other. At all. 

Alperen Sengun might now be atop Draymond Green’s list of enemies across the league. They got into it all game, and Green was called for a Flagrant 1 foul while going up for a layup on the Rockets big man in the third quarter. How much bad blood is between these two teams? 

Curry and Rockets coach Ime Udoka were seen trading barbs at one another walking towards their respective tunnels at halftime. The scene prompted Rockets players to be heard saying “It’s on now,” followed by expletives as they went to their locker room. 

The history between the Warriors, Dub Nation and Brooks already was enough. The young Rockets want all the smoke, and the Warriors aren’t ones to back down. If this is a future playoff matchup, expect bumps, bruises and maybe even some bloodshed.

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