After a strong second quarter against the Houston Rockets, the Golden State Warriors looked like they could be on the way to their second straight victory on Thursday evening at Chase Center.
Brandin Podziemski and Jimmy Butler each tallied seven points in the second quarter as the Warriors surged to a 12-point advantage at halftime. Yet, the second half for the Warriors was a different story.
Down the stretch, the Warriors’ offense went quiet as the Rockets got into rhythm. The Rockets outscored the Warriors 57-41 in the second half on the way to a 104-100 comeback victory.
Steph Curry uncharacteristically struggled on Wednesday, scoring 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting from the field with two made triples to go along with six boards anf five assists with a team-high seven turnovers. In the second half, Curry shot just 1-of-6 from the field and 0-for-5 from beyond the arc. Curry also appeared to pick up an injury after colliding with Rockets guard Amen Thompson.
After the game, the Warriors announced Curry has suffered a right quad contusion and would undergo an MRI.
Along with Curry, five other members of the Warriors scored in double figures, including JImmy Butler who led the Warriors with 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field with five assisst, five boards and two assists in 33 minutes.
With Kevin Durant, Steven Adams and Tari Eason, it was second-year guard out of Kentucky, Reed Sheppard, who stepped up for the Rockets. Sheppard tallied a career-high 31 points and nine rebounds against the Warriors.
The Rockets dominated the offensive glass, grabbing 25 offensive rebounds to Golden State’s 13. The Rockets outrebounded the Warriors 53-47 on Wednesday. The Warriors also struggled with turning the ball over. The Warriors turned the ball over 16 times while the Rockets only turned it over 10 times.
Prior to playing on Wednesday, the Warriors were already eliminated from the knockout stage of the NBA Cup due to the Memphis Grizzlies winning. Golden State’s loss to Houston on Wednesday dropped the Warriors to last place in Group C.
The Warriors will now get two days off before hosting the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday.
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This article originally appeared on Warriors Wire: Warriors can’t hold to early lead on way to 104-100 loss to Rockets
Reporting by Tommy Call III, Warriors Wire / Warriors Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
