The Golden State Warriors flopped without Stephen Curry, getting blown out for just their second loss of the season behind 23 points for Dallas’ J.J. Barea in a 114-91 victory for the Mavericks on Wednesday night.
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Curry could sit out for the second straight contest with a lower left leg bruise when Golden State visits the Houston Rockets on Thursday in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference final.
Klay Thompson scored 38 points, Green had a career-high 16 assists and added 10 points and 11 rebounds and the Golden State Warriors overcame Curry’s absence to beat the Houston Rockets 114-110 on Thursday night.
“It’s an entirely different offence without Steph out there and what Steph does to a game with how much attention he draws”, Warriors interim coach Luke Walton said.
The Houston Rockets have lost two straight games and it will be up to them to go one step further and kick the Warriors while they’re down. Yet Thompson didn’t exactly fire from anywhere on the court – the Warriors instead attempted to slow the game down (with varying degrees of success) and create openings for shooters within the flow of the halfcourt offense.
Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki had 18 points and eight rebounds, center ZaZa Pachulia posted his 17th double-double of the season with 14 points and 15 rebounds, and guards Wesley Matthews and Devin Harris each had 13 points and combined to go 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.
“I didn’t care about that, man”, Thompson said when asked about being the league’s top 2-guard.
The other times the Warriors had 35 or more assists came in their wins over the Nuggets (12-21) last month.
It was in the second quarter when the lead grew as the Warriors held the Rockets to 15 points to lead by 13 at the half.
Having rounded out 2015 with their 30th win of the season, the Warriors could open 2016 by welcoming head coach Steve Kerr back to the bench after complications from back surgery saw him sidelined.
The Warriors had scored under 100 points just twice in their first 30 games, but the Mavericks handcuffed the visitors from the start. The Warriors, who fell behind for good with 8 minutes left in the first quarter, didn’t get closer than 17 after that.
Point guard Reggie Jackson added 19 points and 9 assists for Detroit, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 19 of his 22 in the second half as the Pistons welcomed Brandon Jennings back to their Palace Auburn Hills floor in style. Barea finished the night with nine field goals in 12 attempts, including a 5-of-7 showing from the 3-point line. They also have the best record in the league, displaying that their championship run previous year was not a fluke.
DeMarcus Cousins had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Sacramento but fouled out with 1:47 left. They won their fourth straight game without injured point guard Deron Williams.
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Marco Belinelli scored a season-high 26 points in 27 minutes, but his turnover late in the fourth quarter helped the Kings join the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns as the only teams to lose to the 76ers this season.
