The Golden State Warriors will no doubt be looking forward to the week-long break as the team dropped its fifth straight game, losing to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night 116-107 at Oracle Arena in Oakland.
The team was looking to bounce back from a horrendous road trip that saw them lose four games by an average of 20 points, as they played their last game before the All-Star break. Unfortunately for the Warriors, the Rockets managed to stay just a few steps ahead and left the team scratching their heads, trying to figure out what has gone wrong in the past week.
Houston’s James Harden netted 27 points and 7 rebounds, while Jeremy Lin finished the game with 14 points and 10 assists.
Fans in Oakland were hoping for an emotional game, after the Rockets tallied a record-setting 23 3-pointers a week ago in a 140-109 beatdown, with both sides getting chippy at the end of the game. The Warriors got off to a good start, showing determination and urgency in getting to the ball and managed to get off to an early lead, but the Rockets kept the pace and managed to take a 57-56 lead going into halftime.
“I thought for 48 minutes, we didn’t defend...when you are struggling to find a rhythm both offensively and defensively,defending teams aren’t to take their foot off the gas,” said a disappointed Mark Jackson after the game.
Stephen Curry gave the Warriors 27 points and 6 assists, while Jarrett Jack scored 22 points. Despite a fine game from both players, they just weren’t any match for Lin and Harden who were 15 for 15 from the line (FT), in lieu of Harden having landed hard on two separate occasions on a play over Andre Bogut in the first quarter and again in the third quarter, going down from a layup.
“When you give up 116 points, that’s not who we are, added Jackson. “When we’re at our best, we’re defending, rebounding...this isn’t our brand of basketball.”
The Warriors are now 30-22 and sitting at the 6th seed; 10.5 games out of first and holding a small 2.5 game lead over the 8th seeded Rockets.
The All-Star game is set for Sunday and the Warriors are set to return to the court on Feb. 19 against the Utah Jazz, before returning home to face the Phoenix Suns on Feb. 20 at Oracle Arena.
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