HOUSTON — Reed Sheppard’s three with 6:59 left turned out to be the basket of the night. After that, the Houston Rockets (9-3) took care of business on Wednesday night, beating the Golden State Warriors (8-4) 115-108.
Without Stephen Curry, the Warriors battled back to within five, 91-96, on Brandin Podziemski’s 27-foot three and a free throw with 7:10 left. Sheppard answered with a 27-foot three of his own from the left wing, assisted by Fred VanVleet, to make it 91-99 — and the Rockets never let them back in it.
VanVleet hit a 28-foot three to make it 91-102, and Jabari Smith Jr. scored four straight — a 15-foot pullup jumper, then a steal and a dunk — to make it 106-93.
Earlier in the fourth, after De’Anthony Melton’s 26-foot three, assisted by Draymond Green, cut it to 85-88, Houston answered with an 8-0 run — Amen Thompson’s alley-oop layup off Alperen Şengün, then two 28-foot threes from Sheppard — to make it 96-85.
Yaxel Lendeborg led all scorers with 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors, and Podziemski had 22. Kevin Durant led the Rockets with 20, Şengün had 19 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists, Thompson had 19, and VanVleet had 18.
Curry finished with 3 points on 1-of-3 shooting. He hit a three, then grabbed his right side and went to the locker room. The Warriors ruled him out with right abdominal soreness. The Warriors were also without Jimmy Butler III, out with an injury/illness.
Houston led 56-51 at halftime and shot 50.6 percent from the field to Golden State’s 40.9 percent.
There were so many lead changes. The Rockets led 35-20 after the first quarter. Curry had to leave the game after just six minutes with an abdominal injury, but the game still got within reach as the Warriors battled back to make it a closer game.
The Warriors continue their road trip Friday at San Antonio.
© Old Town News Scottsdale — oldtownnews.us
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