Adrian Wojnarowski’s “The Vertical” on Yahoo! Sports is reporting that the Kings have have signed veteran free-agent guard Ty Lawson to a one-year contract. The source of the information is reportedly from within the league.
Lawson met with the Kings on Sunday in Sacramento and was to go on to New Orleans to meet with the Pelicans officials this week. Apparently, the Kings made Lawson an offer and that made a trip to New Orleans unnecessary.
Ironically, Lawson played for former Kings coach George Karl in Denver and there were rumors that Karl wanted Lawson in Sacramento last season. Now, Karl is gone and Lawson is now a King.
Lawson joins a backcourt that has gone through a major makeover. Gone are Rajon Rondo, Marco Belinelli and Seth Curry. In are guards Arron Afflalo, Garrett Temple, Lamar Patterson and rookie Malachi Richardson. They will join returning guards Darren Collison and Ben McLemore.
Lawson split his time last season between Houston and Indiana. The Rockets gave up a first-round pick to Denver during the off-season to acquire the veteran guard. Lawson agreed to a buyout in March and signed with the Pacers to finish out the season.
Lawson averaged 5.8 points and 3.4 assists per game for Houston mostly coming off the bench. He has averaged 13.1 points and 6.2 assists per game for his career in the NBA.
The 28-year old Lawson played his college ball at the University of North Carolina and his high school basketball was played at the famed Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia.
Well, Steph Curry did not play and yet the Warriors showed why they made history for the best record in NBA history. Normally, a team without their star player has a lot to worry about. The Warriors showed no problems minus the reigning MVP and proved why they are the team to beat besides the fact their last year’s champs. Golden State annihilated the Houston Rockets in a 114-81 victory at Oracle Arena.
Let’s be honest, there’s not much to say about this game. The game went exactly as most would have figured given that the Warriors routed Houston in game four and not to mention they’re the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors played great, the Rockets played atrociously, which is a recipe for disaster. The Warriors played with great togetherness and to nobody’s surprise, they shot out of this world. Golden State made it look easy as they finished with a 54.9 shooting percentage while Houston could not find a way to score with a 32.6 shooting percentage. Golden State played solid defense as they forced 18 turnovers for 25 points.
James Harden was the only Rockets’ player to show any offensive life finishing with 35 points. Besides Harden, Michael Beasley was the only other Houston player to finish the game in double figures.
Klay Thompson did his best to fill Curry’s shoes and finished with 27 points. Thompson knocked down seven buckets from behind the arc on 11 shots and finished 10 of 14 from the field overall. Draymond Green was tremendous overall as usual and totaled 15 points, grabbed nine boards and dropped eight dimes.
Shaun Livingston had a good game on offense as well and scored 16 points on seven of eight shooting. The Warriors looked just as good as they always are and bounced the Rockets out of the playoffs.
Throughout the game, Curry showed incredible excitement from the bench and supported his teammates like no other. And this is why the Warriors are so dangerous, they have some of the greatest team chemistry I have witnessed in my lifetime.
The Warriors won the series and only allowed the Rockets to win one game, which came down to the wire.
Golden State will either face the Los Angeles Clippers who are without Chris Paul and Blake Griffin or the Portland Trailblazers. Portland won game five in their series to go up 3-2 and it appears like they will be Golden State’s semifinal opponent.
Whoever the Warriors play, fans are hopeful that Curry can make his way back into the playoffs. But, with the way Golden State played tonight, let Curry take as much time as he needs to get ready for the Western Conference Finals. I am knocking on wood though, so the whole Bay Area doesn’t freak out on me and say I jinxed them.
The juggernaut that is the Golden State Warriors steamrollered the Houston Rockets 104-78 in game one of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs. The Warriors led the game wire-to-wire en route to the win.
The dominate win has been overshadowed by an injury to superstar Stephen Curry. Curry tweaked his right ankle late in the second quarter and had to be taken into the locker room have the ankle re-taped. Curry would return to start the third quarter but played only 2:47 in the period before having to return to the bench.
In his postgame media conference, Golden State head coach Steve Kerr told reporters that Curry would not have been available to return to the game if Houston would have made a comeback. Kerr went on to say that Curry is questionable for game two on Monday night. In NBA terms, questionable means there is only a 50 percent chance that Curry will play.
Curry was the Warriors leading scorer with 24 points in his limited playing time of 19-plus minutes. Not only would the Warriors miss Curry’s scoring punch but the sight of Curry on the bench could serve as real source of motivation for Houston who do not want to go home down 0-2 in the series.
The Warriors defense was as impressive as their offense. Golden State held the Rockets shooting to just 35.7 percent (30-for-84) from the field. Houston who lives by the creed of “score in the paint or shoot the three” shot just 27.3 percent (6-for-22) from long range.
The Golden State defense kept James Harden off the free throw for the entire game. Harden makes his living driving to the basket and forcing reach-in fouls for opportunities to score from the free throw line.
Kerr told reporters after the game that not reaching in on Harden was major point of emphasis for the Warriors defensive scheme. The plan worked to perfection.
The Golden State defense also caused the Rockets to be sloppy in guarding the basketball. Houston turned the ball over 24 times in the game. The Rockets had more turnovers than assists (16). A negative assists-to-turnover ratio makes it literally impossible to win a game in the NBA.
The Warriors held the Rockets to just eight second-chance points. For comparison, Golden State scored 25 points when give a second chance to score.
There will be much talk about the Warriors outscoring the Rockets by 26 points. The real discussion should be about the Warriors holding the Houston offense to just 78 points.
Warriors
Stephen Curry was the team’s leading scorer with 24 points. Curry went 5-for-7 from 3-point land. He also grabbed seven rebounds, had three steals and dished out two assists in his limited playing time.
As you might have guessed, Klay Thompson helped to fill the gap left by Curry having to leave the game. Thompson scored 16 points but had to take 14 shots to score those points. He was perfect from the free throw line going 6-for-6. Thompson finished with five rebounds, four assists and one steal.
Draymond Green had a double-double game scoring 12 points and recording 10 rebounds. Green led his team in playing time with 33:17 played.
Marreese Speights was the Warriors leading scorer off the bench with 12 points. He shot 5-for-11 from the field.
Andre Iguodala was real force on offense for Golden State coming off the bench to dish out a game-high seven assists.
Rockets
James Harden was the leading scorer for the Rockets with 17 points but he had to take 19 shots to score those points. He was just 3-for-5 from behind the 3-point line. Harden turned the ball over six times.
Dwight Howard was surprisingly a big factor in this game for the Rockets. Howard has experienced a less than stellar season for Houston. He put up a double-double in this game scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for his team.
Patrick Beverley was also a surprising non-factor for Houston on Saturday. After a first quarter skirmish with Curry that resulted in off-setting technical fouls, Beverley picked up three personal fouls and was sent to the bench. He played just 5:10 in the second half after picking up his fourth foul. Beverley finished just two points.
What they said after the game
Steve Kerr evaluating how his team played
“…Very satisfied. I thought our defense was excellent. We didn’t reach. We made them earn every point and we did have the brief spell when Steph (Curry) went out where we sort of lost our focus, lost our poise but we quickly recovered, a lot of guys played but it was a good, solid victory.”
Klay Thompson on the intensity of the game
“It did (get chippy). You expect that in the playoffs.No team is going to lay down against us. I’m just happy we didn’t let it phase us. We’ve got a strong group.”
Houston head coach J.B. Bickerstaff on his team’s first half performance
“One of their strengths defensively is their versatility. They do a lot of switching. They have guys who can defend multiple positions. We didn’t do a good enough job making them pay. When they switch, we have to move more. Instead, we moved less which made us easier to guard. They just sat … they has 10 eyes on the ball-handler. We didn’t put enough pressure behind them, move them around enough so our penetraters could penetrate and make plays for other people. This can’t be a one-sided game offensively. The ball has to move. There has to be a thrust to your offense.There has to be early action, early attacks. They’re too good defensively if you don’t.”
Up next
Game two will be played on Monday at 7:30 PM (PDT) in Oakland. The game will be televised on TNT.
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.
SACRAMENTO- The Kings came in to the night knowing they would be missing Rajon Rondo. Rondo was suspended for Tuesday night’s game after saying a derogatory term toward referee Bill Kennedy. Coming into the game, the Kings knew they were going to be missing offensive help and ball movement. Without Rondo, point guard Darren Collison got the start and he showed up big time. Along with DeMarcus Cousins who has been solid as of late and Omri Casspi who has stepped up big since Willie Cauley-Stein’s injury. Rudy Gay helped the Kings on the offensive end as well and the Kings did a better job on defense while continuing to move the ball and score in the paint. The Kings (9-15) defeated the Houston Rockets (12-13), 107-97, for their third straight win at Sleep Train Arena.
As the game got underway, the Kings got out to an early lead after an 11-2 run. Collision showed off his passing ability with 4 assists in that short period of time. After the quick start the Kings slowed down a bit and the Rockets got ahead of the Kings. Cousins picked up a technical in the quarter and it was a back and forth shootout. The score at the end of the first was a 31-31 tie. Cousins put up 12 points on 3/7 from the field with 2 threes and added 4 rebounds. Cousins also picked up a technical. Gay added 7 points on 3/4 shooting. The team shot 50% from the field and scored 16 points in the paint.
The scoring in the 2nd quarter started with Casspi hitting a 3 pointer. Early on George Karl picked up a technical. The Kings did a good job of passing and pushing the ball. Collision hit Casspi on an alley-oop on a fast break. Collision had 9 assists in 11 minutes. Both teams were a little carless with the ball as they had 8 turnovers each in the 2nd and 14 for the Rockets and 13 turnovers for the Kings. Casspi came around scoring 8 points on 3/3 shooting. Collision put up 7 in the 2nd quarter, the only points he scored in the half. Cousins had a game high, 17 points on 4/10 shooting. James Harden had a team high 10 points. The Kings shot 48.8% for the half and scoring 30 points for the half in the paint. Dwight Howard picked up a technical with 2 minutes left in the quarter. With they better defense and good passing ability the Kings took the lead heading into the locker room, 57-50.
As the teams head out of the locker room, the Kings were doing a good job of finding the open man. Collison got a wide open 3 pointer at 9:48 the Rockets were forced to take a timeout. Collison and Casspi had another fast break dunk. And Rudy Gay helped on another fast break opportunity with Ben McLemore slamming a huge dunk on another fast break. The Kings issue was turning the ball over, 11 times, in the 3rd quarter. Luckily, the shot the ball at 60% and out rebounded the Rockets, 33-27. Harden tried to keep his team in it with 14 points the 3rd quarter, and 24 points by the end of the quarter. Cousins notched 23 points with 9/12 from the free throw line. Collision had 14 points through 3 quarters. 6-8 shooting, and 11 assists. Casspi scored 17 points. The Kings kept their lead over the Rockets, 82-74 to end the 3rd quarter and at one point had their biggest lead of 16 points in the quarter.
Heading into the last quarter, the Kings were looking to finish minus one of their star players. Marco Belinelli, who struggled all game, got 2 three pointers off to gain some confidence in his shot. He added another 3 pointer, for 9 points in the quarter. Rudy Gay posterized Patrick Beverly with a huge tomahawk slam. He added 5 in the quarter and 17 points for the game with 13 rebounds. He shot well, 6/11 from the field and the Kings shot 50.7% from the field. The Kings held a 15 point lead in the 4th quarter and finished the game, 107-97, to beat the Kings. The team finished with 50 point sin the paint, 47 rebounds and 25 assists. The only down fall was their 29 turnovers.
The 3 C’s helped lead the Kings (10-15) to a well deserved victory against the Rockets (12-14). Collision finished with his first double double of the season scoring 14 points and totaling 13 assists, in place of Rondo who is the league’s leading assists man. Collision finished with a season high in assists as well as rebounds totaling 7. Cousins had a double double as well with 26 points and 12 rebounds. Casspi scored 19 points on 8/11 shooting from the field with 6 assists. The team did a good job of moving the ball around and getting good shots near the hoop. Harden did finish with 33 points, 10/18 from the field but the Kings put out a better defensive effort.
The Kings will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road this Friday and will seek revenge after losing to the T-Wolves earlier in the season. With a 3 game winning streak under their belt, the Kings will get back Rondo and look to continue their winning ways.
The Sacramento Kings lost a winnable game in Houston on Saturday night 120-113. It was game that featured some boring play in the first half and uptempo play in the second half. The game turned into a true seesaw battle until the final two minutes of play.
It was a two-point game with 3:11 left to go in the game. DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay were playing with five personal fouls each. Cousins fouled out with 2:14 remaining in the contest. The Rockets responded by hitting 3-point baskets and converting opportunities at the free throw line. In the end, the Kings could only commit fouls and pray for Houston misses which did not happen. The game ended with the Rockets on top 120-113.
The Kings started the game with their 12th different starting lineup of the season due to the loss of Willie Cauley-Stein to injury (dislocated index finger) for the next four to six weeks. Rudy Gay moved to the power forward position and Omri Casspi started at small forward.
Sacramento fell behind quickly in the first quarter shooting an appalling 36.8-percent from the field and going 0-5 for 3-point attempts. The Kings were also hampered by personal fouls. Gay and Cousins both picked two personals in the first period and had spend time on the bench. The Rockets shot just 41.7-percent from the floor but hit on 4-of-12 3-point attemps which helped them establish a 29-16 lead after one quarter of play.
Things turned around for the Kings in the second quarter. Ben McLemore led the attack with 11 points and Omri Casspi added seven points. Sacramento also made 4-of-9 shots from behind the 3-point line. Houston was unable to put together any scoring runs and watched as the Kings outscored them 34-23 in the quarter. The Rockets led the game 52-50 at the half.
Both teams looked like different squads coming out of halftime DeMarcus Cousins had to spend considerable time on the bench after committing his fourth foul. The Kings caught fire shooting 70-percent (14-for-20) from the floor. Rajon Rondo (8), Ben McLemore (6), Kosta Koufos (6) and Darren Collison (5) led the charge for Sacramento. The Rockets shot 58.8-percent behind the scoring of James Harden (10) and Dwight Howard (9). The third quarter ended with the Kings leading the game 85-84.
Kings
Ben McLemore had a breakout game against the Rockets. He scored 19 points hitting on 8-of-14 shots including four successful 3-point attempts. McLemore added nine rebounds, three steals, two assists and one block to his box score. Several times in the flow of the game McLemore was the spark plug that kept the Kings charge going.
Rajon Rondo had another double-double night dishing out 19 assists to go with 13 points. Rondo also recorded four steals. It was the 11th game of the season where Rondo posted 10 or more assists.
Darren Collison came of the bench and scored 18 points in just 21 minutes on the floor. He was an impressive 4-for-6 from 3-point land. Collison also added six assists.
DeMarcus Cousins was hampered by foul trouble the entire game but also just seemed out of sorts throughout the contest. The Kings center scored just 14 points and pulled down 9 rebounds. Cousins shot just 4-for-16 and was 0-for-3 for 3-point attempts.
Rudy Gay also had to deal with foul trouble but scored 15 points. He was 6-for-12 shooting from the floor.
Sacramento had solid team numbers for the game. The Kings shot 46.9-percent (46-for-98) overall and 38.5-percent (10-for-26) from 3-point range. They converted 11 of 13 free throw opportunities.
The Kings out-rebounded the Rockets 47-43. Sacramento won the battle of the paint scoring 56 points to just 36 for Houston.
Sacramento recorded 35 assists and turned the ball over just 13 times.
Houston
James Harden led the Rockets scoring attack with 31 points. Harden shot 6-for-14 from the floor and hit on 5-of-6 3-point attempts. He also had nine assists for Houston.
Dwight Howard had a double-double game scoring 22 points and grabbing 18 rebounds. When the Kings employed the “hack-a-Howard” strategy, Howard responded by making 8-of-14 free throws.
Terrence Jones scored 16 points off the bench to join Trevor Ariza (14) and Patrick Beverley (14) in double figures.
Two stats tell the story of the Houston victory over the Kings. The Rockets were successful on 16-of-34 3-point attempts, and they went 32-for-43 from the free throw line. In the end, it was too many 3-point baskets and too many free throws that caused the Kings to lose the game.
What they said after the game
“It was a frustrating game and the free throws … trying to fight through a tough whistle is … I thought we did a great job. I was proud of how they fought. I was proud of how well we played. We got off to a bad start. I thought our bench came in and gave us a big lift. You know we had foul trouble. Everybody kind of gave us something but we ran out of gas in last four or five minutes,” said Kings head coach George Karl after the game.
When asked to analyze Cousin’s performance, Karl said, “I think his jumper is a little rusty from being out for a little bit. I think the foul trouble bothers me. Inconsistent type of rhythm that comes with not being in your normal routine, normal minutes. You know he’s playing against a pretty damned good center. (Dwight) Howard is a pretty respectful dude.
Up next
The Kings headed right to the airport and flew to Oklahoma City where they will play the Thunder (11-8) on Sunday afternoon. OKC is a tough back-to-back on the road opponent.
The Rockets hit the road and will play the Nets in Brooklyn on Tuesday. Houston will visit Sacramento on December 15.
In their first meeting of the 2015 NBA season, Steph Curry gave James Harden a first-hand demonstration as to why he was voted the leagues MVP over the disgruntled Rockets player, dropping 25 points while leading his team to a 112-92 victory on Friday.
The league MVP and NBA Champion shot an efficient 9-of-15 from the field, including 4-of-9 from beyond the arc, while also dishing out six assists and grabbing seven rebounds in 27 minutes of play. Curry’s MVP challenger struggled for the second straight game, shooting just 4-for-18 for 16 points on the night in a losing effort.
Harrison Barnes, Klay Thompson, Marreese Speights and Andre Iguodala all finished in double-digits for Golden State, with Speights leading the group with 14 points on the night.
The contest was tight and physical through the first quarter, with Golden State holding on to just a one point lead at the end of the first quarter. But a posterizing dunk from Barnes on Houston center Dwight Howard seemed to energize the team and swing the match in their favor, as they jumped out to a comfortable 57-44 lead at the half.
Golden state would continue to expand upon their lead as the game went on, cruising their way to a 20 point victory by the games end. The team worked their way into a 2-0 record, while denying Houston their first win of the season.
Houston was led by Montrezl Harrell’s 17 points off the bench, followed by Harden’s 16. Even without C Andrew Bogut, Golden State was able to limit Dwight Howard’s impact on the game, holding him to just nine points on 4-of-11 shooting and seven rebounds.
The Western conference runner ups were clearly frustrated by being steadily handled by the reigning NBA champions, as both Harrell and Houston coach Kevin McHale were called for technical fouls during the night’s contest. The team suffered a 4-1 series exit at the hands of Golden State before the team moved on to the NBA Finals last season.
The team will now move on to continue their win streak with their second game of the season against the New Orleans Pelicans on the road on Saturday, their first back-to-back games of the season.
OAKLAND — The Golden State Warriors continue to make winning in the NBA and over the Houston Rockets an easy
Klay Thompson scored 27 points and Stephen Curry finished with 22 points and 10 assists as Golden State established a new franchise record with their 17th consecutive home win with a 126-113 victory over Houston Wednesday in front of the 102nd straight sellout at Oracle Arena.
Golden State completed the four-game sweep over Houston this season, which hasn’t been done since the 1973-74 season.
Draymond Green had 18 points and six rebounds and Harrison Barnes finished with 11 points as Golden State shot 50 percent from the floor (49-for-98), while holding the Rockets to just 42 percent shooting (37-for-87).
“We got the best fans in the league,” Green said. “They make it tough for teams to come and try to beat us.”
Marreese Speights and David Lee finished with nine points off the bench for Golden State. Lee reached the 10,000-point career milestone in the process.
Andrew Bogut also finished with nine points, but recorded 10 rebounds and five blocks while playing 22 minutes.
The Warriors utilized a 26-6 run in the second quarter to push their lead to 62-42 at halftime.
Tempers flared in the third quarter when Curry ran after Rockets’ forward Trevor Ariza bumped the Warriors’ point guard.
“I got a technical for nothing,” said Curry. “Softest technical I’ve ever gotten. I thought it was a cheap shot, even if he didn’t meant it, that’s how I felt at the time.”
Ariza was assessed a technical in fact, Houston had four technical fouls called against them, two of them on forward Josh Smith who was ejected in the third quarter for arguing with referee, Tre Maddox.
Both teams finished even in total rebounds (46), while Golden State finished with the edge in assists (26-23), and Houston leading the turnover battle (19-16).
Golden State was lights out from beyond the arc, shooting 13-for-29 on 3s (44 percent). Houston shot 13-for-32 from downtown (40 percent).
“I thought we played well tonight, but we could’ve ended the game better,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. “We didn’t close the game like we normally do, but we had a big lead so we were able to ride it out.”
Golden State biggest lead was 30 points.
Houston (29-14) just didn’t seem to have it again against Golden State Wednesday night.
Outside of James Harden’s game-high 33 points, Corey Brewer (20 points) and Jason Terry (14 points), no other Rockets players scored more than nine points.
Center Dwight Howard finished with seven points and 11 rebounds while battling foul trouble. Howard also picked up a first quarter technical and was clearly frustrated for the remainder of the game.
“They play hard, and fast,” said Houston head coach Kevin McHale. “They make you make plays, they defend, and they pressure you. Give them credit for playing a great game.”
Golden State (34-6) joins just 10 teams since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976 to win 34 of their first 40 games of the season. At 19-1, the Warriors sport the best home record in the league.
“Teams are going come in a give their best effort,” Bogut said. “We’ll bring our game and continue to play hard and tough.”
The Warriors continue their five-game homestand Friday night with their I-80 brethren, Sacramento Kings visiting Oracle Arena.
OAKLAND — Klay Thompson scored 21 points and Harrison Barnes and Stephen Curry each finished with 20 points as the Golden State Warriors finished the game on a 22-7 run and took down the visiting Houston Rockets 105-93 Wednesday night in front of 19,596 fans at Oracle Arena.
The win extended Golden State’s franchise record streak to 14 games, and improved the Warriors to an NBA-best 19-2 record.
“It took so long for us to break through tonight, that’s a helluva team,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who became the first coach in NBA history to win 19 of his first 21 games. “I thought we struggled a bit, but we were able to get the ball moving.”
Playing without center Andrew Bogut due to right knee tendinitis, Golden State relied on small ball going with Festus Ezeli at center to start the game, but ended the game with Draymond Green (11 points) at center, and Barnes at power forward.
The result: Golden State outscored Houston 32-17 in the fourth quarter, and shot 70 percent (14-of-20) from the floor, while playing lock-down defense. The Dubs held Houston in check in the fourth quarter, limiting the Rockets to just 31.6 percent (6-of-19) shooting.
James Harden scored 20 of his game-high 34 points in the first half, while Trevor Ariza and Donatas Motiejunas both finished with 18 points for the Rockets (16-5), who saw their four-game winning streak snapped.
Dwight Howard (right knee) missed his ninth straight game for Houston.
Both teams finished with 15 turnovers.
“We knew with Bogut out, we needed everyone to play well and we did,” said Barnes, who also had seven rebounds. “We had to grind out this game…we’ve been through a lot, but we got a lot of guys who can come in and contribute.”
Marreesse Speights finished with 15 points and eight rebounds and Shaun Livingston scored eight points off the bench.
Kerr knows its all about the team.
“It means that I’m the luckiest head coach in history…it’s fun to come into work everyday to get ready for the next game and work with these players.”
The Warriors will try to continue their winning streak Saturday in Dallas.
The Sacramento Kings tried to fight through tired legs on their second game of a back-to-back matchup on Wednesday, but ran out of steam as the Houston Rockets earned a 102-89 victory.
Sacramento dug themselves an early hole, as a lack of scoring and easy offense by Houston gave them as large as a 22-point lead in the first half of play. The Kings continued to find their rhythm on offense while pulling to within striking range of the James Harden lead Rockets, but ultimately stalled short of amassing a comeback as a 16-point fourth quarter sealed their fate.
With center Dwight Howard sitting out tonight’s contest with a knee injury, shooting guard James Harden was able to let loose, heaving 31-shots for 26-points on the night to lead his team in scoring. Without their down-low presence, the Rockets lived behind the arc, connecting on 12-of-25 attempts with guard Isaiah Canaan earning 18 of his 24 points from three point range.
On the other side of the court, big man DeMarcus Cousins kept the Kings in the game with 29-points on 9-of-18 shooting while Sacramento was forced to play without starters Rudy Gay and Darren Collison for the second straight game, as they continue to be plagued by injuries.
While the Kings managed to scrap their way to just a one-point deficit in the third quarter, their sloppy play proved too much to overcome, as Houston benefited from 21 Sacramento turnovers on the night, which they converted into 32 points to back their winning effort.
After jumping out to a hot start, the loss drops the now 9-6 Kings to fourth place in the Pacific division, ahead only of the bottom-dwelling Los Angeles Lakers who sit with a 3-12 record on the season. The Kings will look to bounce back on Friday, as they hit the road to take on the San Antonio Spurs
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