The Warriors withstood a ferocious start from the Rockets and provided quite the response with a 112-92 road win over the Rockets.
GAME LEADERS
As the defending NBA champions, the Warriors can expect to take the best shot from their opponents this season. That’s exactly what happened on Friday, and the Warriors were ready. They withstood a ferocious start from the Rockets and provided quite the response with a 112-92 road win over the Rockets.
No statement echoed louder than a ferocious first quarter slam from Harrison Barnes. The right handed hammer drew quite the reaction from the Warriors bench, and it came during a game-changing 90-second spurt that also featured three 3-pointers from Stephen Curry. That sequence showed the Warriors were game for the challenge, and what followed over the next three quarters was textbook basketball from the reigning champs: strong defense, unselfish play and production from up and down the roster.
Curry paced the Warriors with 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and six of his teammates tallied at least nine points. Festus Ezeli started in place of Andrew Bogut (concussion) and held his own against Dwight Howard, putting in nine points and seven rebounds. Marreese Speights added further production from the center position with 14 points in 13 minutes.
Draymond Green did a bit of everything (9 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists), Andre Iguodala added 12 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Barnes came through with 12 points.
The Warriors out-scored Houston in every quarter, but it was the second period when the Dubs really took control of the game. They turned a one-point advantage at the end of the first quarter into a 13-point lead at halftime thanks to some suffocating defense. The Rockets were held to 5-of-22 shooting in the quarter and forced twice as many turnovers (16) as the Warriors (8) in the game.
The Warriors move to 2-0 on the young season, and they’ll be back in action on Saturday with a Halloween matchup in New Orleans against the same Pelicans team they faced on Tuesday’s Opening Night.