What the Steph Curry-less Warriors can take from an ugly win over the Rockets – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

As good as the Warriors were in the first 24 minutes against the Houston Rockets on Saturday night, they were just as bad in the next 24 minutes at Toyota Center before rallying to a 127-121 win in overtime to snap a five-game sweep -Road trip began.

The Warriors' long list of positives in the first half of a third straight game without Steph Curry and De'Anthony Melton could be unraveled and rolled to the ground. They had 24 shots and 20 assists by halftime and had only four turnovers.

They shot brightly from long range, shooting 60 percent and converting 12 of their 20 3-point attempts. They outplayed and pressured the Rockets defensively, and their depth shone as Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield each scored 14 points off the bench.

The Warriors had a 28-point lead at halftime and were as high as 31 points in the first half. Her 71 points were the most in a first half all season and the second-most in any half.

And then came the second half.

Rockets coach Ime Udoka allowed himself to be downplayed and his resurgent squad flipped the script on the Warriors. Without Curry, the Warriors had no one to provide offense. Between the second half and overtime, the Warriors made 16 shots with just six assists – four fewer than their 10 turnovers. Costly mistakes. Mental errors. Outnumbered and outwitted.

Until it was most important.

“I'm so proud of the guys for how they responded to Houston's attack in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter,” coach Steve Kerr told reporters after the Warriors' win.

Scoreboards don't have a sexy meter. In a few months, analysts, fans and observers may remember the many mistakes the Warriors made in allowing the Rockets to bounce back in the first place. Probably not. What they will see and what the team will remember is a victory that tested the Warriors' will on the road without their superstar.

All the good atmosphere at the start of an impressive start to the season could have easily been destroyed with several pointing fingers. But these victories are necessary.

Ugly wins and the positive aura that comes with surviving those wins can be felt in a locker room. Although this is a franchise full of dynastic moments over the last decade, the Warriors aren't ripe for major success in overtime – especially on the road.

The Warriors had lost their last 11 road games in overtime before extending their winning streak against the Rockets to 14 straight games, including the last eight in Houston.

“Great experience,” Kerr said. “To win after Draymond (Green) fouled out, to win without Steph, to win on a night where the game was just completely shaky … it's great to have that game on tape. It’s great to feel that because we have to get better when we face a defense like that.”

Steve Kerr calls tonight's win a “great experience” with its ups and downs, especially given Steph Curry's absence pic.twitter.com/LHxHWqGrqq

– Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 3, 2024

To go back in time, the Warriors' starting lineup featured Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant, surrounded by Patrick McCaw, Jordan Bell and JaVale McGee, when they last won a road game in overtime on December 18, 2017. Omri Casspi scored 14 points off the bench, and Nick Young added 10. Since then, only a few things have changed.

This is the same team that played a league-leading 48 clutch games last season. A season in which Curry was named Clutch Player of the Year even though the Warriors were 24-24 in those games. In the clutch games he didn't play, they were 1-4.

There has already been one game this season that fell into the “clutch” category, meaning the score is within five points in the final five minutes. And that game was the Warriors' only loss this season. They lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 112-104 because Curry left early with a sprained left ankle.

The following two games were the perfect answer to defeat the undermanned New Orleans Pelicans on consecutive home nights. Saturday night in Houston was a slap in the face to a young, energetic team on the rise. Such a physical and mental blow would have been too much a season ago, Green believes.

“Last year we would have smoked this game 1,000 percent,” Green told reporters. “It’s nice to see that we can get a game out regardless of whether it went wrong or not.”

With another win in the record books and a third in a row without Curry, the needle continues to point north for the Warriors – sexy damn points.

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