Rockets battled hard but fell in overtime to a shorthanded Warriors squad. A tough loss in Houston's first night of a home back-to-back.
After finishing their short three game road trip with a win in DC on Monday, the Rockets headed home for a back to back. Last night the Warriors came to town testing Houston’s 20-7 record in the Toyota Center.
This was the second of three times we’ll get a rematch of last season’s first round series. With the NBA Cup game victory on Thanksgiving Eve, last night's matchup gave Ime Udoka and his team the opportunity to guarantee the season advantage.
It seemed like the Golden State Warriors had different plans though, as the Curry-less crew put up a valiant effort right from the get go. They finished the first quarter with a ten point advantage, holding Houston to only 20 points.
The second quarter was essentially the exact opposite, with the Warriors only managing to score 21 points. Houston’s 27 point quarter brought them within a handful of points at the half, ready to come out looking like a new team for the final half of basketball.
We got some third quarter magic, as it was the highest scoring part of the game. Reed Sheppard's hot stretch earned him more play with the starters this half, leading to a 30 point performance. This stint allowed the Rockets to gain the lead going into the 4th.
This is where the game slowed down again though. It was each team's lowest scoring quarter of the night. Still, a riveting 20-19 quarter ended with bonus basketball as neither team could finish the job in regulation. Bad news for the Rockets, as they’re now 1-6 in overtime games this season. The 113-115 loss to the undermanned Warriors might be the worst OT loss yet.