SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors had six players in double figures but still fell to the Houston Rockets 104-100 on Wednesday evening at Chase Center as Steph Curry suffered a poor shooting night and left the floor limping late in the fourth quarter.
Curry scored 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting, committed six turnovers and headed to the locker room in the final minute of the fourth quarter after hobbling for several minutes.
This game marks just the fifth time this season that Curry, who scored 103 points over his last three games entering play, has failed to score at least 20 points.
Houston guard Reed Sheppard led the Rockets by scoring a career-high 28 points on a career-high 25 shots from the field. Houston forward Kevin Durant missed a second straight game due to personal reasons.
Entering play, the Rockets’ season-high for offensive rebounds was 20, but Houston pulled down 23 offensive rebounds by the end of the third quarter.
The Warriors led 43-42 with 3:30 remaining in the second quarter after Amen Thompson dunked down an alley-oop pass from Clint Capela, but Golden State closed the first half with an emphatic 16-5 run and went into the break with a 59-47 lead.
Going into the break, Golden State had seven players — Butler, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Will Richard, Brandin Podziemski, Quinten Post — who scored at least seven points.
Richard, a rookie, continued to impress, scoring 18 points and pulling down six rebounds — three offensive.
Curry and Richard connected for a highlight-reel play in the early minutes of the third quarter. Curry, standing at the top of the key, made a no-look pass to Richard at the free throw line, and with the shot clock expiring, Richard connected on a turnaround jumper.
The Rockets had their response in the third quarter, pulling down 10 offensive rebounds and outscoring the Warriors 27-17 to get back in the ballgame. Post’s 19-foot jumper with 0.9 seconds remaining in the third gave the Warriors a 76-74 lead going in the fourth quarter.
Houston took its first lead of the evening on its first possession of the fourth quarter as Aaron Holiday knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing, fully erasing a Golden State lead that had ballooned to 14 points. The Rockets’ lead grew as large as eight points, but Richard’s cutting layup with 3:43 left in the fourth tied the game at 91 apiece.
The Rockets took a 93-91 lead after Thompson knocked down a pair of free throws, but Brandin Podziemski stepped to the free throw line with 3:17 remaining with an opportunity to tie the game.
Podziemski missed three consecutive free throws even after being gifted an extra opportunity when the Rockets committed a lane violation. Following those misses, the Rockets would proceed to put the game on ice and send fans to the exits early.
Moses Moody knocked down a 3-pointer with 5.8 seconds remaining to cut the Rockets’ lead to 102-100, but the Warriors could not complete the comeback.