by Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors did it again. They continue to amaze their fans and the entire NBA as they beat a very determined Houston Rocket team 123-110 Tuesday at the Oracle Arena. The Dubs raced to a fifteen point lead in the first period. They outscored the Rockets 42-27 and it looked like the Dubs were in beast mode and were going to blow away the Rockets. The Rockets star, James Harden, said “not so fast.” Harden and the Rockets cut the deficit to three at the half, trailing 69-66. Harden, scoreless in the first period, scored eighteen as the Rockets decided that they were not going to rollover.

In the second half, the Rockets outscored the Dubs by three as the third period ended in a 93-93 tie. There were seven lead changes in the period, and the Dubs trailed by five before they righted the ship and tied the game late in the period. The Rockets, at this point, were playing with a lot of confidence and the Warriors were trying to get their mojo back as the fourth quarter was about to start. The Dubs decided that they wanted to win the game as they went on an 8-0 run to start the final period of play. Andre Iguodala (Iggy) hit a three. Harrison Barnes followed with a three and then a two-point bucket to put the Dubs up by eight The Rockets cut the lead to five, but Harrison Barnes had the hot hand as he scored seventeen points in the period. Andrew Bogut was a beast on defense, too. He blocked several shots as the Warriors were able to pull away for the win.The  Dubs outscored the Rockets 30-17 in the period. Golden State wins 123-110.

Game Note- Steph Curry led the Dubs with 35 points. Barnes had nineteen. Andrew Bogut knocked down thirteen and had six blocks. Mo Speights, coming off the bench, put in fifteen and Iggy added 12. James Harden was the man for Houston with thirty-seven. Trevor Ariza had nineteen and Dwight Howard finished the night with twelve. Marcus Thornton, also coming off the bench, pitched in with sixteen.

With the win, The Warriors improve to 47-4 for the season. They made NBA history for having the best record after 51 games. Houston’s record drops to 27-27. The Warriors improved their record at Oracle to 24-0 this season, and they have now won forty-two straight at Oracle. They have also won ten consecutive games in a row.

Backup center Festus Ezeli had arthroscopic surgery on his ailing left knee and will be out of action for about six weeks.

The Warriors travel to Phoenix to meet the Suns Wednesday night. Game time is 6 pm PT.