Rockets Show Resilience in Loss to Warriors

On Thursday night, the Houston Rockets faced off against the Golden State Warriors, hoping to land their third-straight win.

Things wouldn’t go Houston’s way quickly, though, as the Warriors coasted to a massive halftime lead, 62-48.

Houston was already playing at a disadvantage, with numerous contributors out due to injury, forcing fringe-rotational players to step into the spotlight vs. a new-look Golden State with Jimmy Butler. And step up Aaron Holiday, Jock Landale and Nate Williams did, largely fueling a massive second-half comeback that would get the Rockets back within four. Holiday was forced to start due on the night, and saw the best game of his career, scoring 25 points on just under 50% shooting, with eight rebounds, four assists and a steal. 

Landale and Williams were similarly impactful, combining to score 24 points on 11-for-18 shooting off the bench, with plenty of spark-plug plays throughout. Golden State eventually coasted to a comfortable win behind a strong fourth-quarter, but the Rockets effort was valiant, nonetheless.

With the loss, Houston officially heads into All-Star weekend 34-21 and No. 4 in the Western Conference — likely much better than many were expecting, and yet still slightly disappointing for the Rockets and its base. 

The team suffered seven losses in its last 10 tries, six of which came in a row in a nightmare stretch for the Rockets. The skid could be chalked up to injuries — with players like Jabari Smith Jr. and Fred VanVleet missing extended time, as well as a host of other smaller injuries — but it hurt regardless. The energy boost it got from its bench on Thursday night could be a positive sign, but they’ll still need their high-level contributors back in order to truly contend in the West.

The home stretch leading up to All-Star weekend caused the team to fall from outright No. 2 in the West to No. 4, with several others like the Lakers, Clippers and Timberwolves close behind.

Sengun will play in the 2024-25 All-Star game, and Houston will re-open its season with a game against Minnesota on Friday, Feb. 21.