HOUSTON – Warriors coach Steve Kerr did not mince words before his Warriors hobbled into the game against the host Rockets at Toyota Center on on Thursday.
“This is probably as beaten up a team as I’ve ever been around in my 12 years with the Warriors,” Kerr said. “I look at it as a great challenge, but also a great opportunity for the young players to get better, to play more, to take on more responsibility.”
Aside from usual suspects Steph Curry (runner’s knee) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness), Golden State was down three rotation players in Moses Moody (wrist), Gary Payton II (ankle) and Will Richard (ankle) in the Warriors’ first game in Houston since winning Game 7 last spring.
What remained of that mangled outfit somehow managed to win 115-113 against former Warrior Kevin Durant and a supporting Rockets cast that specializes in turning basketball games into rock fights.
Trailing by one with 45 seconds remaining, Al Horford buried a corner three to give the Warriors a 101-99 lead, and then Alperen Sengun answered by hitting a hook shot over Horford to tie the game with 27 seconds remaining.
With 6.5 seconds remaining, Kevin Durant was called for a foul when he hit De’Anthony Melton’s shooting wrist while the Warrior was firing a fadeaway. After replay review showed Durant hit the ball first, the call was overturned. The Warriors won the jump ball but couldn’t score, sending the game to overtime.
The Warriors led 113-110 with 30 seconds left in overtime, but Melton fouled Durant on a 3-pointer. The usually deadeye shooter missed his third free throw to help the Warriors cling to a one-point lead, and then Melton pushed the advantage to three on a putback layup with five seconds remaining.
The Warriors closed things out from there, and the result snapped a two-game skid for Golden State.
Melton poured in 23 points, Brandin Podziemski scored 26 (seven in overtime), and Gui Santos put in 14. Draymond Green scored 10, had eight assists and did a stellar job of guarding both Sengun and Durant.
Durant scored 22 for the Rockets, San Leandro native Amen Thompson put in 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Reed Sheppard led all scorers with 30.
As usual, the Rockets outrebounded the Warriors 49-47, albeit just barely for a team that leads the league in boards grabbed per game (48.1).
The Warriors got off to a fast start, leading 30-20 after one quarter. Melton scored 10 early points, while Pat Spencer came off the bench and made it a point to attack Reed Sheppard on drives en-route to 18 early points in the paint for the visitors.
The Rockets found their stride in the second half, at least offensively, going on a 10-0 run to tie things at 45 all. Santos made a pair of nifty layups to end the half with the Warriors up 51-47. The Rockets found their groove in the third, outscoring Golden State 35-30 to take a slim 82-81 lead into the wild fourth quarter.
The Warriors (32-30) play at conference-best Oklahoma City on Saturday.
LJ Cryer returns to Houston
LJ Cryer held his follow through after each of his four 3-point makes. And following every swish, the Rockets crowd broke from tradition and applauded the visiting guard. How could they not give props to one of their own?
In front of his hometown crowd, the Houston-area native checked into his first game since Jan. 25 and scored 12 points in 20 minutes. Cryer had dealt with a hamstring injury, but was able to play at the Toyota Center in front of a few loved ones.
After a stellar career at Katy High and Baylor University, Cryer spent his final two collegiate years playing for University of Houston.
There, he averaged 15.6 points per game and was named to an All-American team while leading the Cougars to the 2025 title game – which Houston lost to Will Richard’s Florida Gators.
After a stellar summer league and preseason as an undrafted free agent, Cryer lit up the G-League and earned a two-way contract with the Warriors.
Porzingis, Curry get shots up
Pregame shooting drills took on a higher level of interest than usual in Houston. Both Kristaps Porzingis and Seth Curry got shots up about an hour and a half before tipoff, it being Porzingis’ first public appearance since being ruled out with an illness two weeks ago.
The center did not make the team’s previous two-game road trip to New Orleans and Memphis, but has resumed basketball activity over the past few days.
“No timeline (for his return) but he’s on the trip, and he was was able to work out today and take it day by day from here,” Kerr said. “It’s great that he’s here and feeling well enough to be on the trip, and hopefully that bodes well for him playing soon.”
It was also the first pregame Seth Curry sighting in months, which saw the coaching staff put the injured guard through a number of drills. Curry has only suited up for two games and has not played since early December, being stricken with sciatica.
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