The Golden State Warriors looked like they might have to accept their fate when they got to the Toyota Center to face the Houston Rockets on Thursday evening.

With seven players listed as out on the injury report, and three of their 10 healthy bodies being two-way players called up from the G-League, it was going to be an extremely difficult game to win against the third-best team in the Western Conference.

The Warriors paid this no matter, though, simply coming out with infectious energy and knocking down the shots they were given. They also played astounding defense and eventually came away with a major upset win in overtime, 115-113.

After the game, Al Horford was straight to the point when answering how it felt to pick up such a major win like this one.

"It's important. It feels really good. Last game, I felt like we came out with good energy and just couldn't sustain it. I feel like Draymond (Green) hit it on the nail with us tonight. He was like, 'We have to make sure that we keep that intensity in the second half' and I felt like we did that and gave ourselves a chance."

Horford also went into how the team maintained that intensity and didn't let the flow of the game bring them down.

"Just the defensive effort was there. I feel like last game, we got discouraged when we missed some shots, and tonight, we just stayed with it." 

Considering how demoralizing the loss to the Clippers felt on Monday after the Warriors blew a 14-point halftime lead, it's significant that they were able to persevere and earn a hard-fought overtime win against a quality team.

Horford signed with the Warriors this offseason, likely expecting to be a backup center that closes games in some or most scenarios. However, as the injuries have begun piling up, the 39-year-old is now having to start and carry a large load, both on offense and defense.

Despite all this extra baggage, Horford has been excellent for the Warriors as of late. At the beginning of the year, he was in and out of the lineup due to a sciatic issue, but since he's recovered from that, Horford has been extremely reliable. 

Against the Rockets, he posted 17 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. It's his fourth game in double figures in the last five games, demonstrating how rock-solid he's become. Additionally, dating back to Christmas, Horford has only missed five games, and those were all due to sitting out one side of a back-to-back.

It might not have been expected that Horford would be one of the most reliable contributors in 2026, but the veteran big man has been extremely valuable to Steve Kerr and the rest of the Warriors, holding it down in the middle.