The Golden State Warriors had to battle the Houston Rockets without Stephen Curry and Draymond Green on Thursday night. They managed a hard-fought 99–93 win at home over the Rockets behind a stellar performance from Jonathan Kuminga.
Stephen Curry & Draymond Green were out vs. Rockets
Curry and Green are the pillars of the Warriors’ unit. Golden State goes as they go, but they needed to forge a new path with Curry taking a rest day and Green sidelined with a calf injury. Liam Willerup of Golden State Warriors on SI shared the news hours before tip-off.
Warriors need Curry despite his limited start to the season
Curry has been banged up all season long. The two-time NBA MVP missed three straight games from Oct. 29 to Nov. 2 with a sprained left ankle and most recently sat for the Warriors’ matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Nov. 27 with a knee ailment.
Despite Curry playing only 30.2 minutes a night — his lowest average since 2011-12 (min 50 games played) — and scoring a mere 22.6 points per contest, he is still the driving force of the Dubs’ offense. Yet, Golden State entered last night’s contest 3-1 without the Davidson product on the campaign and made it 4-1 with the win over Houston.
MRI shows Green dodged a serious calf injury & his return is TBD
As for Green, he had an MRI done on his injured calf which came back negative. The Warriors released an official statement on X on Thursday evening. The franchise revealed that the Michigan State product would sit against Houston but his return status is TBD. He could take the floor again as soon as their next matchup against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.
Green anchors the Warriors’ defense and catalyzes their half-court offense as a premier distributor. While he’s pitching in his customary six assists and one block a night, the 34-year-old is also shooting a sweltering 40.3 percent from the three-point line with a career-high 1.5 threes made per contest.
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The Warriors’ secondary options earned the win
Ultimately, Golden State fought off a Rockets defense holding opponents to the fourth-lowest three-point percentage (34.3 percent) and fewest assists (22 APG) per game in the Association. The Warriors leaned heavily on Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga to pick up the slack.
Kuminga erupted for 33 points in the contest, powering the Dubs to a win. Wiggins went 3-of-4 from downtown and totaled 23 points on the night. Defensively, Golden State was spectacular, holding the Rockets to only 37.6% shooting from the field and 26.3% from three-point range.
Earning such a convincing win without their top two stars is a tremendous feat for this Warriors team. Golden State has championship aspirations this season and will need Curry and Green to remain healthy in order to reach their loftiest goals. However, with their second and third options demonstrating an ability to compete and pull their weight, the Warriors’ depth could be the ultimate key to hanging another banner.
