The Golden State Warriors found another way to lose a basketball game on Wednesday night, losing their final Emirates Cup game of the year to the Houston Rockets 104-100. And while the game was more competitive, entertaining and encouraging than most of their frustrating losses this year, it was perhaps their worst loss for one main reason: Steph Curry was injured.
Let’s start there before returning to how a track was built and blown. Curry was attacked several times throughout the match, which was as physical as you’d expect from a matchup between these two teams. Most notably, though, there were two plays late in the fourth quarter: one when he collided with Amen Thompson, who fell on Curry, and another where Alperen Șengün collided with his legs while diving for a loose ball. Curry limped after every play, and his limp became more and more visible with each passing moment. After the game, the team announced that he had a right quad contusion and would have an MRI.
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It is impossible to speculate on the severity of the injury. If you’re a glass-half-full person, that’s a good sign that Curry stayed in the game after each collision, considering himself fit — and capable — to play despite being compromised. If you prefer glasses half full, it was deeply concerning that Curry finally waved the white flag and booked a one-way ticket to the locker room with 35 seconds left…and the game was still on the line. Now we’re playing the waiting game, to see which of these glasses contains the truth, and we’re crossing our fingers that it’s the one half full. The Dubs have been pretty awful with Curry off the court this season, and nothing in their recent performances suggests a change is coming in that regard. So even with their schedule finally lightened up, they could be in a lot of trouble if they have to play without Curry for an extended period of time.
But that’s a problem for some future day. Saturday, in all likelihood. For now, let’s get back to what happened in this game.
The game started well, with the Warriors taking an early lead over a Rockets team that was playing without Kevin Durant and Steven Adams. The team’s first points of the game came on a pair of threes from Jimmy Butler III and, after Draymond Green and Will Richard each added one, the Dubs had shot a perfect 4-for-4 from distance. It was a quarter that greatly underlined Curry’s impact and importance: The offense flowed beautifully and effortlessly thanks in large part to Curry, despite the fact that he almost made it to halfway before attempting a shot (a successful layup that gave Golden State a 20-11 lead). Although he didn’t shoot often or score much, Curry led a spirited offensive charge, and when he took his place on the bench, the offense, predictably, completely collapsed.
Houston quickly closed the gap behind a flurry of offensive rebounds (they had eight in the first quarter alone) and Golden State’s reckless offense. It was just a 25-22 advantage for the Warriors after the quarter.
They found a little more rhythm in the non-Steph minutes to open the second quarter, but they were still pretty sloppy. Jonathan Kuminga’s absence was certainly felt as the team struggled to win individual games, get noticed and shoot free throws. Yet despite the struggles, they maintained the advantage throughout the quarter, also playing strong enough defense to prevent the Rockets from closing the gap. Finally, late in the quarter, the Warriors found the offense they were looking for and went on a quick 10-0 run. A few minutes later, the half ends with a brilliant two-for-one sequence: Butler scores, then the Rockets miss a three that was halfway through before coming out again. In the race for the rebound, Houston tried to save the ball by throwing it out to Quinten Post, but he managed to get it back instead and quickly sent an outlet pass to Curry, who made a perfect pass to Green for a transition layup. The Warriors led 59-47 at the break, and things were looking pretty good.
Things continued to look good to start the second half, as the Warriors came out of the locker room with plenty of energy. They pushed the lead to 14 points and kept it in that range for a while. But then everything fell apart.
Houston had been searching all night for offense in Durant’s absence and finally found it from a slightly unlikely source: Reed Sheppard. The third overall pick in the 2024 draft had a disappointing rookie campaign in which he averaged just 4.4 points per game, but he has recently hit his stride. He lit the nets on fire in the third quarter en route to a career-high 31 points. And as Sheppard caught fire, so did his teammates. And as they all caught fire, the lead dissipated and dissipated, until it disappeared entirely on a Sheppard jumper with about six seconds left in the quarter. The Warriors still managed to take the lead in the final frame, thanks to a tough jumper by Post with 0.9 seconds remaining. It was a 76-74 lead going into the fourth, but the mood wasn’t good.
Things went from bad to worse quickly. Aaron Holiday made a three on the first possession of the fourth quarter, giving Houston its first-ever lead of the game. With Curry on the bench, the offense was once again non-existent and Kuminga’s absence was felt again. The deficit grew, and with about 9:30 remaining, it turned into an eight-point game, thanks to a 24-6 Rockets run that spanned several quarters.
As frustrating as the loss was, the Warriors did not go down easily. They responded with a 7-0 score of their own, with Curry returning to the court during this time. It was a team effort to keep them in the game on both ends of the court, with particularly solid minutes from Richard, who returned to the starting lineup after a brief hiatus. Richard had a crucial offensive rebound and putback that gave the team the lead with about five minutes remaining, but from there it was mostly downhill.
It was fun, though. The game took on a fast-paced, frenetic pace, full of transition opportunities, wild shots, bad turnovers, serious fouls and serious non-fouls. But it all seemed to come down to one sequence, with the game tied around the 3:30 mark of the fourth.
Thompson drove and collided with Curry, who was sliding to take the lead. Curry wasn’t completely ready when Thompson took flight toward the rim, but the third-year wing extended his left hand to create space and pushed Curry toward the court, before landing on him. Curry was shaken (as was Thompson, who inadvertently hit Green’s hand in the face), but an offensive foul was called.
Rockets coach Ime Udoka challenged the call and, after extensive video review, the referees ruled that Curry was not ready. With that apparently negating the illegally extended arm — something the refs didn’t mention in their explanation — the call was overturned and a blocking foul was called. The ESPN broadcast team seemed as shocked and lost in explanation as most Warriors fans surely were.
Thompson made both free throws to give Houston a two-point lead. On the ensuing Warriors possession, Brandin Podziemski was fouled, where he unfortunately cosplayed part of the infamous Nick Anderson scene. Podziemski missed both free throws badly (each was extremely short), but on the second, Șengün was whistled for a lane violation and Podz got a third free throw. You didn’t have to look to know what was going to happen, because the most unnatural photo I ever saw him take was a solid brick. Seconds later, Șengün drained a tough jumper, pushing the lead to four and making Golden State’s fate sealed.
The Warriors stayed within fighting distance and got ball five back with about 35 seconds remaining, at which point Curry – moving very carefully – left the game. They made one last effort, with a three from Moses Moody cutting the lead to two points with 5.8 seconds remaining. But the Warriors had no more timeouts and Sheppard made two free throws, and that was it, as they say.
Butler led six Warriors in double figures with 21 points, while Richard had one of his best games, with 18 on 7-of-12 shooting. Curry struggled even before he got knocked out, finishing with just 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting, while turning the ball over six times. Green flirted with a triple-double – he had 12 points, eight rebounds and eight assists – but turned the ball over five times. And overall, the Warriors looked way too small… not really a surprise considering Houston is a massive team that has almost entirely eschewed the concept of guards.
The Dubs now have two days off, which they will spend in hopes that Curry can return to health. They’re in pretty bad shape right now: Kuminga and Al Horford both missed this game due to injury, while De’Anthony Melton is still a long way from returning (although he and Kuminga clashed with Santa Cruz earlier in the day). And to make matters worse, Gary Payton II left this game with a sprained ankle, so he could miss some time as well.
We’ll see which of the Warriors can walk and lace up sneakers on Saturday when they host the New Orleans Pelicans at 5:30 p.m. PT. But their problems go beyond just health. The sky is falling slightly at 1 Warriors Way, with Butler telling reporters after the game that “it’s just sad” to see the way the team isn’t committed to doing what they should be doing, while Green called them a “very average team.”
There is a lot of work to be done.
