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 They still couldn't crack the league's winningest team.
In a game that featured five technical fouls, including four on
Houston, the Warriors emphatically completed their first
season-series sweep of the Rockets in 41 years, crushing one of the
Western Conference's top teams 126-113 in a game not nearly as close
as the final score would indicate.
Shooting guard Klay Thompson scored 27 points, and the Warriors
limited the Rockets to 30.2 percent shooting in a dominant first
half en route to their fourth straight win over Houston this season
and their franchise-record 17th consecutive home victory.
"That's something that's very important to our team: Protect our
home court," said Warriors reserve forward David Lee, who recorded
his 10,000th career point while Golden State was improving its
league-best record at Oracle Arena to 19-1.
"We talked about it at the very beginning of the season," Lee
continued. "We have great fans here. We need to take advantage. And
then we need to go out and get road victories."
 The Warriors (34-6) thumped the Rockets by 11, 12, 25 and 13 -- an
average of 15.3 points per game -- in recording their first 4-0
sweep of Houston since the 1973-74 season.
The Rockets (29-14) trailed by 20 at halftime and by as many as 30
in the third quarter of a frustrating night that saw reserve forward
Josh Smith ejected for drawing two technical fouls.
"That doesn't bother us," Warriors center Andrew Bogut said of the
Rockets' rough play. "We had a big lead. No team likes to get beat
like that. Teams are going to do that."
Point guard Patrick Beverley and small forward Trevor Ariza both had
run-ins with Warriors star Stephen Curry. Ariza was nailed with a
technical foul, as was Curry for getting caught arm-wrestling with
Beverley.
Curry might have received a game-ending second "T" if not for power
forward Draymond Green stepping in to prevent him from going after
Ariza.
"He had just got a technical foul, and they are going to do anything
they can possibly do to get him thrown out of the game," Green said.
"They would be looking for me to do something crazy. I just grabbed
Steph."
The game was tied at 36-all early in the second quarter and Golden
State led just 42-39 with 7:26 remaining in the first half before
going into the halftime break on a 20-3 run that opened a 62-42
lead. The Rockets missed 11 of their 12 shots in the stretch, during
which Thompson scored 11 of his 18 first-half points.
 The Rockets scored only 13 points in the second period, the second
consecutive game in which the Warriors' opponent totaled just 13 in
the second period. Golden State also accomplished the feat in a
122-79 blowout of the Denver Nuggets on Monday.
"They play hard. They play fast," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said of
the Warriors. "Loose balls, long rebounds, all that stuff ...
Someone's going to get them, and if it's not you, you don't win, and
we didn't get them."
Smith's ejection came in the third period after the forward argued
what he thought should have been a Warriors foul. His second
technical foul quickly followed the first, leading to his
disqualification.
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Curry complemented backcourt mate Thompson with 22 points and 10
assists for the Warriors, who were playing for the second time on a
five-game homestand. Green contributed 18 points to the win, which
was Golden State's 11th in 12 games and 26th by 10 or more points
this season.
"It was a good response," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of how his
club dealt with the Rockets' tactics. "Anytime something like that
happens, you have to respond with your play."
The Warriors hit half their shots in the game and 13 of their 29
3-point attempts.
Shooting guard James Harden, held to 12 points when the Warriors won
131-106 at Houston on Saturday, led the Rockets with 33 points.
Fourteen of his points came on 16 free-throw attempts.
Reserve guards Corey Brewer (20) and Jason Terry (14) combined for
34 points for the Rockets, who were playing the opener of a
three-game trip. Houston, which was coming off a 110-98 home win
over the Indiana Pacers on Monday, alternated wins and losses in its
past six games.
It was a particularly frustrating night for Rockets center Dwight
Howard, who was nailed with a technical foul and spent much of the
game in foul trouble. He missed five of his eight shots and managed
only seven points to go with 11 rebounds.
"They tried to frustrate us, and that contributed to us losing the
game," Howard said. "This is the regular season. They are playing
great basketball right now, but all that matters is what you do in
the playoffs."
Howard's counterpart, Bogut, blocked five shots, three by Howard.
Bogut also found time for nine points and 10 rebounds in 23 minutes.
"I thought Boges was fantastic," Kerr said. "Boges gets excited to
play against the best centers in the league. He takes great pride in
his defense."
NOTES: NBA All-Star Game starters, voted upon by the fans, will be
announced Thursday night. Golden State G Stephen Curry is the only
likely starter among the Warriors and Rockets. ... Warriors coach
Steve Kerr insisted before the game he would not lobby for votes
among Western Conference coaches for G Klay Thompson to be an
All-Star reserve. "I sort of assume that he will be there," he said.
"You can't have (just) one All-Star and be 33-6 -- that's
impossible." ... Rockets coach Kevin McHale admitted he will take a
different approach in trying to help G James Harden and C Dwight
Howard earn reserve spots on the West team, declaring, "Everyone
does a little bit of campaigning." ... Rockets F Terrence Jones, out
since early November with nerve damage in his left leg, made the
three-game trip with the club but didn't play Wednesday.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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