One of the NBA's biggest rivalries took a wild and unexpected turn on Christmas this year when the Warriors stunned the Houston Rockets with a 116-104 win at Chase Center.
As Steph Curry and Klay Thompson continue to rehab their respective injuries, the win was one of the biggest upsets ever on Christmas. A Dubs team led by Curry's brother-in-law Damion Lee took down James Harden and Russell Westbrook, yet Harden had nothing but good things to say about the Splash Brothers as the Warriors stars watched the game from the bench.
"The world and the game is missing obviously Steph and Klay," Harden said to reporters after Houston's loss. "Obviously the game is missing them, obviously their fans are missing them. It would have been, obviously, a great, competitive game -- they beat us without them, so for us we gotta regroup."
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Harden scored 24 points -- down from his 38.1 average this season -- and dished 11 assists. He was a minus-18 on the day, and spoke highly of this scrappy Warriors squad.
"They play hard. They play extremely hard," Harden said about the Warriors.
Harden also called Chase Center "beautiful" and said he could feel the excitement. Russell Westbrook, on the other hand, was much less talkative after the game.
[RELATED: What Warriors’ win over Rockets says about players, execs]
What was expected to be a dud for the Dubs turned into a bit of a Christmas miracle on Wednesday in San Francisco. It was an unexpected chapter in this rivalry, but you never know what could happen when these two teams square off against each other.
Golden State Warriors
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