The Golden State Warriors seem like legitimate title contenders this season. They have the best record within the NBA following a 120-107 win over the Houston Rockets. They’ve scored the second-most factors per game (113.9) and allowed the second-fewest (100.2). Head coach Steve Kerr’s squad has been feasting on the back of dizzying ball movement and throttling defense.
The Warriors left the Chase Heart with another win Sunday despite working into some foul trouble within the first half. It was an offensive back-and-forth for a lot of the first half, but a 20-2 Warriors run in the third quarter sealed the victory. Guards Jordan Poole and Steph Curry led the best way in scoring, with 45 mixed factors. Ahead Otto Porter Jr. flashed his clean capturing as soon as again to chip in off the bench as well.
The Rockets had been the first staff to shoot higher than 30% from three-point vary in the game since Oct. 26 when the Oklahoma City Thunder hit 35% of their looks from deep. The Warriors have played 5 games since then, successful all but one – an additional time loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Here are some player grades from the win.
Steph Curry: B+
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Sporting a new haircut, star guard Steph Curry put up a good 20 points on 8-for-16 shooting with 4 threes. He found himself in foul hassle within the second quarter, however, like the rest of the staff, he figured that out within the second half. His plus-16 was the highest among the beginning unit as properly. He didn’t play within the fourth quarter, likely as a result of the Warriors’ back-to-back.
General a strong night for Curry. He has not needed to shoulder as a lot of the scoring load with the remainder of the lineup choosing up the slack. He was also visibly engaged with teammates when he was on the bench.
Draymond Green: B+
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Ahead Draymond Green has been a lively participant within the Warriors’ passing recreation this season, hitting back-door cutters and kicking the ball to open shooters. He led the staff in assists Sunday with 9 to go alongside eight rebounds and 6 factors. He also chipped in a block and a steal as well.
The sort of stat-line is pretty regular for Green, however, he additionally had six turnovers and 4 fouls in the night time too. That’s the place his grade suffers.
He did, however, make some good performs, together with a full-court sprint for an unfastened ball within the first quarter that got a few of his teammates going.
Andrew Wiggins: B-
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Andrew Wiggins really is a “look-up on the scoreboard and he somehow has 14 factors” sort of participant. Nicely, 16 factors in Sunday’s case. He also contributed three rebounds and a pair of assists as properly.
He didn’t shoot the ball incredibly properly, going simply 4-for-11 and 1-for-6 from three-point vary, however, sunk sufficient free throws to make up for it. Simply another traditional Wiggins nighttime of a decent quantity of scoring and some different stats to keep you on your toes.
Jordan Poole: A
Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Poole has been the new hand the past few video games and Sunday was no totally different. The third-year guard scored one other 25 factors on 7-for-13 from the ground against the Rockets. He went 2-for-7 from deep however still managed to attain bunches because of a bit more aggression within the lane.
He was attacking the basket more than typical and subsequently picked up 9 free throws on the day, hitting all of them. He wasn’t only a shooter both, he chipped in 5 assists and 4 rebounds.
Kevon Looney: C+
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Heart Kevon Looney played beneath 20 minutes as soon as again Sunday. Rockets massive man Christian Wooden wasn’t a lot of a factor, scoring simply 4 factors against the Warriors. Looney didn’t play particularly higher, he’s simply not featured within the offense a lot. Looney additionally grabbed a trio of rebounds in an overall quiet night.
The Bench (A’s)
Gary Payton II (A+): 10 points on 5-for-6 from the floor, 4 steals, three rebounds, and three assists.
Otto Porter Jr. (A+): 15 points on 5-for-9 from the floor, 5-for-7 from three, 9 rebounds, two steals, and an assist.
The second unit played properly general, together with an honest stretch of minutes within the fourth quarter regardless of some difficulty making shots.
Payton has rapidly made an impact defensively and has been getting some really good looks on offense as properly. His work charge is unimaginable and the staff and followers have responded to it.
Porter had an insane stretch within the third quarter the place he made three consecutive threes and obtained the Chase Heart on its ft. He additionally cleaned the glass and made one other three whereas the starters sat within the fourth.
Otto Porter has Chase Center ROCKIN’ 🔥
Three triples on three straight possessions! pic.twitter.com/AxAUQdUeVp
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) November 8, 2021
The Bench (Bs)
Nemanja Bjelica (B+): 9 points on 3-for-4 on threes, two rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
Juan Toscano-Anderson (B+): Eight factors on 4-for-8 from the floor, 4 rebounds, and an assist.
Damion Lee (B-): 4 factors, 4 assists, and a rebound.
All three contributed to the win with some efficient capturing. Bjelica also had a plus-minus of plus-21 on the night, second solely to Payton for the game lead.
With the uptick in Payton and Poole’s utilization, a few of Lee’s scoring alternatives have gone away for now. Will probably be interesting to see how he responds within the coming weeks because the Warriors wait to get totally healthy.
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