In a showdown of unbeatens the game was tied midway through the fourth quarter, it was an early-season interesting game living up to its billing. That’s when Stephen Curry decided to show he was the best player on the court.
He sparked a 14-2 Golden State run that led them to a 98-87 win. Curry ended up with a ridiculous line: 34 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, four steals. He was scoring off the drive, off jumpers, pretty much any way he wanted.
The Rockets were shorthanded — Dwight Howard, Patrick Beverley and Terrence Jones were all out (Howard came down with an illness on game day). That’s three starters and the key to their defense. Still the Rockets held the Warriors down to 92.1 points per 100 possessions.
It’s just that the Warriors defense was better. After the game coach Steve Kerr was hard on his team, saying they were lucky to be winning the way they were playing, that they were careless with the ball. It was vintage coachspeak, being hard on the team having success so it doesn’t go to their heads. There’s a lot of season left. The thing is, Kerr wasn’t wrong either — the Warriors have a lot of work still to do.
That said, Golden State is now 5-0 and have picked up quality wins over the Rockets, Clippers, Trail Blazers and the Kings opening night (right now beating the Kings looks like quality, that was Sacramento’s only loss). The Warriors have defended well all season, and when you combine that with Curry the Warriors become a force. It’s early in the season, but they have everyone’s attention.