In a showcase of elite defense, the Houston Rockets opened up a three-game California road trip with Sunday's suffocating 106-96 road victory (box score) over the Golden State Warriors.
Houston (52-27) remains at No. 2 in the Western Conference standings, while Golden State (46-32) is at No. 5 in the West. The Rockets have won 15 of their last 17 games, and they have now secured at least a top-three seed in the 2025 West playoffs. Their magic number to clinch the No. 2 spot is now one, and it can be secured with either one more Houston win over the remaining three regular-season games or one loss from the No. 3 Los Angeles Lakers (48-30).
The Warriors had a five-game winning streak snapped.
For Houston, the big story was its defense on future Hall of Famer Steph Curry. With Amen Thompson leading the way, Houston limited Curry to just 3 points in 33 minutes on 1-of-10 shooting (10.0%). It was the fewest points scored in Curry's career during games in which he played at least 30 minutes.
"When you have a special guy like Amen Thompson doing what he does, that's the result," Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said postgame.
Ime Udoka on the Rockets holding Steph Curry to just 3 points on 1-of-10 shooting tonight:
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) April 7, 2025
"When you got a special guy like Amen Thompson doing what he does that's the result." pic.twitter.com/C3D7pTb10d
Warriors guards Brandin Podziemski and Buddy Hield combined to score 39 points while making 10-of-20 shots from 3-point range, but that was a tradeoff the Rockets were happy to make if it meant holding Curry in check.
Golden State scored just 20 points in the fourth quarter, and six of those came in the final 67 seconds — after both teams had sent in end-of-bench reserves with Houston holding a decisive 16-point lead.
Offensively, Jalen Green came through for the Rockets with 21 points and 5 assists on 9-of-19 shooting (47.4%), including 3-of-7 from 3-point range (42.9%). Of that total, 10 came in the fourth quarter as Houston pulled away.
For the visitors, other big nights included:
- Dillon Brooks: 24 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists; 10-of-13 shooting (76.9%), 3-of-4 on 3-pointers (75.0%)
- Alperen Sengun: 19 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists
- Amen Thompson: 14 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks; 7-of-14 shooting (50.0%); +26 in 29 minutes
- Jabari Smith Jr.: 16 points, 9 rebounds; 7-of-10 shooting (70.0%), 2-of-5 on 3-pointers (40.0%)
It was Houston's first victory at Golden State in more than five years (Feb. 20, 2020).
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Ime Udoka on ...
