The Houston Rockets come into Thursday losers of 14 straight games against the Golden State Warriors. Ime Udoka's group finally looks capable of smashing such an ignominious streak.
Venue: Chase Center -- San Francisco
Time: 10 p.m. ET Thursday
TV: NBA TV
Streaming: Fubo (Get Access | Save $30)
The Rockets enter at 15-7, second in the Western Conference, second in defensive rating and fifth in net rating. On Sunday, they beat the conference-leading Thunder, and Alperen Şengün earned Player of the Week honors.
Jalen Green and Fred VanVleet are hovering at 40 percent from the field, and the team is 26th in 3-point percentage, but Houston's defense is inspired. Tari Eason leads the NBA in defensive rating; Şengün and Amen Thompson rank third and fourth, respectively. This balanced and selfless team seems to have fully bought in, with seven Rockets averaging double-figure scoring. They're second in fast break points, reflecting a young, springy squad with just one key contributor (VanVleet) at age 30. They are also second in second-chance points, dominating on the offensive glass and relentlessly maximizing possessions.
Houston hasn't beaten Golden State in four years. Their last meeting was a banger, a 127-121 overtime finish on Nov. 2. Stephen Curry was shelved from that game with a peroneal strain, but the Warriors got a combined 50 bench points from Buddy Hield and Jonathan Kuminga.
Curry will be available Thursday, but Draymond Green is dealing with a calf injury. Green had effusive praise for the upstart opponent on his podcast this week, admitting that professional irritant Dillon Brooks is one of the NBA's tougher players to go against.
The Warriors are still top-10 in points for and against this season, but they come home to the Bay on a dispiriting five-game losing streak. There's no shame in falling to the Thunder or road losses at Phoenix and Denver. But they'll definitely want the Nets and Spurs games back. Golden State has the league's fourth-worst 3-point percentage during this losing streak.
They looked solid for most of Tuesday's Cup match with the Nuggets before allowing a 10-0 run to end the game. Kuminga put up an efficient 19 points, plus a steal and a block, in his fifth start of the year. Gary Payton II was a +18 in 14 minutes on the floor.
Players who wore both jerseys (minimum 50 games with each franchise):
Buzzer beaters: The Warriors have three against Houston: Rick Barry (1974), Sonny Parker (1981), and Stephen Curry (2022). The Rockets have two against Golden State: Hakeem Olajuwon (1992) and Moochie Norris (2000).