Steph Curry, Warriors drop Game 5 in blowout 131-116 loss to Rockets

The Rockets played Game 5 like their season was on the line. The Warriors played without urgency.

The Golden State Warriors technically showed up for Game 5 against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night, but they played like a team that was waiting for Game 6. While the Rockets played like a team that was one loss away from elimination, the Dubs looked like a tired, older, and slower team that lacked much urgency. That combination is how the Rockets coasted to a 131-116 blowout where the Warriors pulled their starters halfway through the third quarter.

The Warriors briefly had an 8-5 lead before the Rockets asserted their dominance. A 15-0 run put Houston ahead by 12 and their lead would never shrink back into single-digits again.

The Rockets were swarming Golden State’s starters on defense, and taking advantage of a lackluster defensive effort on the other end. They made more than half of their three-point attempts in the first half, which featured far too many open looks. By halftime, the Rockets were leading 76-49.

Steph Curry was the lone Warriors starter to finish in double figures, scoring just 13 points alongside 7 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 turnovers. No other Warriors rotation player reached 10 points before garbage time. Jimmy Butler III scored just 8 points on 2-for-10 shooting from the field.

Every Rockets starter finished the game with at least 11 points. Fred VanVleet finished with a game-high 23 points on 8-for-13 shooting (4-for-6 from three). After an abysmal shooting start to the series, VanVleet has been on fire over the past two games. Golden State will hope that regresses going forward.

Amen Thompson was the Rockets star of the night, however. The young, athletic wing had a dominant defensive performance against Curry, who looked especially slow and out of sorts. In 28 minutes, Thompson recorded 21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 blocks, and 2 steals on 7-for-10 shooting from the field. Unsurprisingly, he had a game-high +31 plus/minus.

Or at least... those were the numbers through the first three quarters.

With the Rockets lead hovering around 25, coach Steve Kerr pulled his starters halfway through the third quarter. Rockets head coach Ime Udoka followed suit shortly thereafter. The Warriors bench unit, led by Moses Moody slowly began chipping away at the deficit.

In 25 minutes, Moody led the Warriors in points (22), rebounds (9), and steals (2) in 24 minutes on 8-for-17 shooting from the field (2-for-6 from three). Even without his shot falling, Moody was among the few Dubs players who brought a playoff intensity.

The Warriors lineup of Moody, Pat Spencer, Braxton Key, Kevin Knox II, and Trayce Jackson-Davis started the fourth quarter on a 14-2 run, cutting Houston’s lead to 15. While Kerr stuck with his bench unit, Udoka reinserted his starters to try and stop the momentum.

Key missed an open layup that could have made it an 11-point game with just over four minutes left in regulation, but his miss was followed by a Dillon Brooks rebound that set off a chain of events that led to the series’ latest confrontation.

This time Brooks charged at Spencer following the foul, but was cut off by the referee. Alperen Şengün, though, confronted Spencer, who lightly headbutted the Rockets big man before Jackson-Davis shoved Şengün. Jackson-Davis and Şengün were each given technical fouls, while Spencer was ejected.

Spencer had been a valuable spark plug for the garbage-time unit. After a solid spurt in Game 2, Spencer recorded 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 assist on 5-for-7 shooting in 14 minutes.

That sequence effectively ended any Golden State comeback effort, and the Rockets starters were able to return to the bench with 1:43 left in regulation. However, the fact that Udoka had to play his starters for a significant chunk of the fourth quarter is no small feat. Curry, Butler, and Draymond Green combined to play only about 67 minutes, while VanVleet, Thompson, and Şengün logged about 99. As both teams prepare to fly back across the country with just one day off before Game 6, the Warriors will take every edge they can get.

Perhaps the Warriors played with their food on Wednesday, but the cost of travel and shortened rest could have also reared it’s head. Curry had played around 40 minutes in nearly every game of the series before this one, and took on an even heavier load in Jimmy Butler’s absence. Butler played 40 minutes two days ago despite dealing with a painful injury.

Hopefully they can recover in time to close the deal on Friday night in front of their home fans. The start time for that game has yet to be announced, but will likely be at 6:30 or 7:00 p.m. PT.