HOUSTON (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 27 points and the Golden State Warriors withstood a late surge by the Houston Rockets for a 105-98 victory Thursday night.
The Warriors were clinging to a two-point lead before using a 11-2 run to make it 102-91 with about two minutes remaining. A highlight of that spurt came when Curry juked Jeff Green before swishing a 3-pointer and Jimmy Butler wowed the visitor’s bench with a two-handed dunk about a minute later.
Golden State led by as many as 24, and frustrated with the poor performance of his starters, Houston coach Ime Udoka benched Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun and Dillon Brooks to start the fourth quarter. The team’s backups keyed a 16-6 run that cut the lead to 88-86 with seven minutes left.
Nate Williams, who was playing in just his sixth game this season, had seven points in that stretch.
Udoka never re-inserted the three starters. Aaron Holiday led the Rockets by tying a career high with 25 points as Houston lost for the seventh time in nine games.
Takeaways
Warriors: Butler has played well in his first few games with Golden State and should only get more comfortable with his new team after the break.
Rockets: Houston’s stars must play better after the break if the team wants to stay in contention in the Western Conference and make the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
Key moment
Curry’s 3-pointer over Jeff Green during Golden State’s run that put away the game.
Key stat
Butler finished with 19 points after scoring at least 20 in his first three games since a trade from Miami.
Up next
The Rockets resume play after the All-Star break when they host the Timberwolves on Feb. 21. The Warriors visit the Kings that night.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Kristie Rieken, The Associated Press
