Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors started a three-game trip in Texas with a thud. The Warriors, without the services of Steph Curry for the next five games, could not get their offense going and they lost to the Houston Rockets 107-86 at the Toyota Center on Thursday night.

The Rockets, who lost to the Warriors last season in the Western Conference Finals, had circled the date they would play them in the new season. The Rockets have not looked like the team that had the best record in the NBA last season. The Warriors played a sound game on defense, but their offense went into the deep freeze. The Warriors’ Big Three of Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson were expected to provide the firepower the Warriors needed if they were to win. The Rockets’ defense double-teamed Kevin Durant all night long. Neither Draymond or Klay could pick up the slack. The Warriors made just four 3-point shots while the Rockets connected 16 times.

The Warriors grabbed an early 8-1 lead in the first quarter. They led 15-8 until Houston went on an 8-0 run to take the lead 16-15. The Rockets took the lead for good when they hit a three to take a 19-17 advantage. The Rockets finished the quarter leading 25-19. The Warriors and Rockets each scored 22 points in the second period and the Rockets still led by six at the end of the first half 47-41. Durant led the Warriors with 13. Thompson and Jonas Jerebko each had six. James Harden led the Rockets with 15. Clint Capela had 6, Chris Paul 8, and Eric Gordon added 10.

The Warriors held the Rockets to 36% from the floor, but the Rockets took seven more shots than the Warriors.

The Warriors could not get the offense going in the second half. They were not running the fast break. They were not making three-point shots. They were completely out of sync. They turned the ball over. The Rockets outscored them 29-22 in the third quarter and led 76-63. The way the Warriors were playing did not indicate that they could overcome a 13-point deficit.

Thompson started the fourth quarter with a bucket. The Rockets went on a 21-0 run to put the game out of reach. The Warriors’ head coach Steve  Kerr inserted his bench players, and the Big Three watched the finish of the game from the bench. The Rockets cruised to an easy 107-86 win.

Game Notes and Stats: The Warriors had an opportunity to win the game had they had an offense. The Rockets were averaging just 101 points on offense so far this year. Their defense had allowed 102 points per game. The Warriors did not do it, and their record dropped to 12-4. Houston improved to 7-7.

Durant led the Warriors with 20 points. Kevon Looney was second with 12, Quinn Cook had 11, and Thompson finished with 10. Most of Cook’s points came in garbage time.

Harden led the Rockets with 27. Eric Gordon had 17, Clint Capela, 10, and Chris Paul 10.

Up Next: The Warriors play the Dallas Mavericks Saturday night in Dallas. Game time will be at 5 pm PT.