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If the Warriors had lost to the Houston Rockets tonight, it would have marked the first sweep for the Warriors since the 2013-14 season, when the San Antonio Spurs swept the Warriors in their season series. The Warriors made sure no such sweep happened this year with a 106-104 over the Rockets in Houston.
Here are three thoughts from tonight’s game:
Warriors prove a point without Durant
Kevin Durant sat out tonight with a right ankle contusion. In his place, Andre Iguodala (who has often played limited minutes off the bench this season) started and had a fairly quiet night. He finished with 3 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
A surprise: Andre Iguodala starting for the injured Kevin Durant tonight in Houston. A hint that the Warriors are taking this one serious.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 14, 2019
But in Durant’s absence, the Warriors’ big three remaining offensive weapons took hold of the game, each finishing with 24-plus points:
Stephen Curry: 24 points (8-of-20, 3-of-9 from 3-pt, 5-of-5 from FT), 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover
Klay Thompson: 30 points (12-of-23, 5-of-10 from 3-pt, 1-of-1 from FT), 6 rebounds, 2 assists
DeMarcus Cousins: 27 points (full stat line below)
“Come back, come back, come back”
The Rockets almost completed a comeback tonight. It had the same eerie feeling it did when James Harden hit that impossibly difficult 3-pointer on January 3 to beat the Warriors in overtime.
Tonight, it was not to be for Houston. The Warriors, despite allowing the Rockets to close an eight-point gap in the final two minutes to two points, survived after Harden missed an intentional free throw and Iguodala secured the rebound the other way for the win.
As Beyonce, a Houston native, sang on “6 Inch,” (although not at all related to sports) “Come back, come back, come back.”
Cousins maintains hot streak
DeMarcus Cousins has taken plenty of criticism for what some people perceive as his poor fit with the Warriors. This is despite Cousins coming off an Achilles tear as a massive, 7-foot center.
Cousins came into tonight’s game averaging 15.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists per game on 45 percent shooting from the field. Tonight, Cousins dropped 27 points (11-of-16, 1-of-2 on 3-pt, 4-of-4 from FT), 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 assists, 4 turnovers, and was a key cog in the Warriors’ game plan without Kevin Durant in the lineup.
