Curry, Thompson lead Warriors past Rockets

[March 18, 2013]  HOUSTON (AP) -- Stephen Curry scored 29 points, Klay Thompson had 26 with six 3-pointers, and Golden State stayed ahead of Houston in the Western Conference standings with a 108-78 win over the Rockets on Sunday night.

James Harden and Jeremy Lin scored 21 points apiece for the Rockets, who now trail Golden State by 1 1/2 games for the No. 6 seed in the West.

Golden State snapped a five-game losing streak to the Rockets and got some payback for a 140-109 loss in Houston on Feb. 5, the Warriors' most lopsided loss of the season. The Rockets scored a season-high point total in that one and a season-low point total on Sunday night.

Golden State also held Houston to season-low point totals in the first quarter (10) and first half (31) and won in Houston for the first time since Dec. 31, 2007.

The Rockets were the NBA's highest scoring team coming into the game, but their offense looked awful most of the night.

Houston went 3 for 23 from the field and had four turnovers in the first quarter. No one was immune to the dysfunction -- Harden missed a driving layup, rookie Thomas Robinson blew an uncontested dunk and Donatas Motiejunas missed all six of his shots.

The Warriors had offensive issues of their own early, starting 8 for 28. Curry and Thompson went a combined 2 for 12 in the opening quarter and Curry missed his first four 3-point tries.

Backup center Greg Smith provided a spark for Houston with a three-point play and a one-handed dunk at the start of the second quarter. But Smith quickly picked up two fouls and went to the bench. Thompson swished a 3 from the corner with 8:17 left in the first half to extend the lead into double digits.

Lin sank Houston's first 3-pointer in nine attempts, but Curry answered with his first 3-pointer and a jumper in the lane as Golden State stretched the lead to 14. Curry sank a fallaway 3-pointer from the corner and a floater in the lane as the gap swelled past 20.

Golden State led 54-31 at halftime. In their previous meeting here, Houston scored 77 points in the first half, its season high. The Rockets went 2 for 16 from 3-point range and had more turnovers (8) than assists (5) in the first half.

Houston rallied from a 59-39 deficit to beat Minnesota on Friday night and the way the third quarter started, it looked like another monster comeback might be brewing.

Harden intercepted a pass and raced for a layup and 3-pointers by Lin and Harden trimmed the deficit to 11. Harden turned a steal into a breakaway layup and Chandler Parsons swished a 3-pointer from the corner for his first basket as the Rockets continued their surge and cut the gap to 62-57.

But Thompson sank three 3-pointers in a 4-minute span and Houston started missing again. The Warriors finished the third quarter with a 13-3 spurt to lead 75-60 heading to the fourth. The Warriors led by double digits the entire fourth quarter.

NOTES: Bogut had 12 rebounds, grabbing at least 10 in a game for the sixth time this season. ... The Warriors went 13 for 26 from 3-point range. ... Houston's first-quarter shooting percentage (.130) was also a season low. ... The Rockets made only nine 3-pointers, snapping a streak of seven straight games with at least 10.

[Associated Press; By CHRIS DUNCAN]

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