Houston Rockets (49-29) beat Golden State Warriors (36-42) 117-116 on the road on Sunday, April 5 in a game that stayed within 10 points at every quarter break.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Warriors struck first, taking the opening quarter 31-26 and a 5-point lead after one. The Rockets moved in front with a 29-22 second quarter, carrying a 2-point lead into halftime.
The Rockets won the third 37-29 to create some separation, taking a 10-point lead into the fourth. The Warriors took the fourth 34-25; the Rockets held on for a 117-116 regulation win.
The edge that mattered
The Rockets grabbed 24.2% of their own misses, while the Warriors recovered 16.7%. The Rockets got more from their shots, finishing at 63.1% effective field-goal shooting compared with 58.3% for the Warriors. In a 1-point game, the second chances kept adding up.
The Warriors did win one battle, ball security: TOV% of 10.3 against 13.9. The Rockets made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 95 possessions per team, the Rockets produced 123.1 points per 100 possessions to 122 for the Warriors.
The Warriors' reserves also made a difference, outscoring the opposing bench 33-10.
Who made the difference
Kevin Durant was the game's biggest individual force for HOU: 31 pts, 8 reb, 8 ast, 3 blk on 10-17 shooting. His Game Score of 28.6 led everyone. His team was -4 with him on the floor.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 29 pts, 2 reb, 4 ast on 11-21 shooting, good for a 21.3 Game Score.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 57% for the Rockets.
Across the last 14 meetings in our records, Golden State Warriors lead 8-6.
The Rockets are now 49-29, and the Warriors are 36-42. The Rockets last five before this game: W-W-W-W-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.