Rockets vs Warriors Final: Houston Ends Golden State's Eight-Game Streak 115-108 After Stephen Curry Leaves in the First Quarter

HOUSTON — The Houston Rockets snapped the Golden State Warriors' eight-game winning streak on Wednesday night, pulling away in the fourth quarter for a 115-108 victory at Toyota Center on a night the Warriors lost Stephen Curry almost before the game had started. Curry, who entered the night ranked second in the NBA at 30.6 points a game, logged six minutes and scored three points before departing with a right abdominal strain in the opening period, Reuters reported. He went to the locker room during a first-quarter timeout — called after a Durant transition dunk put Houston up 19-10 — and did not return.

Houston owned the first quarter anyway, outscoring Golden State 35-20 with eight transition points and 10 points off six Warriors turnovers, capped by a VanVleet buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Golden State's rookie Yaxel Lendeborg carried the response, scoring 13 points in the second quarter on drives, post moves and midrange jumpers to cut the margin to 49-48, before Sengun converted an offensive rebound with 0.4 seconds left to send Houston into halftime up 56-51. Lendeborg finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Brandin Podziemski added 22 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Warriors, who were held well below their 120.4-points-a-game season average — their longest winning streak since 2022 is over.

The fourth quarter decided it twice. After 3-pointers by Georges Niang and De'Anthony Melton cut a 15-point deficit to 88-85, Sengun fed Amen Thompson for a baseline layup, Reed Sheppard hit back-to-back 3-pointers, and Fred VanVleet added two more 3s around a Jabari Smith Jr. dunk as Houston ran the lead to 111-93. The Rockets made 6 of 10 3-pointers in the fourth and outscored Golden State 50-34 in the paint for the game. Kevin Durant led Houston with 20 points; Sengun posted 19 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists; Thompson added 19 points and seven rebounds; VanVleet had 18 points and six assists; Smith scored 14 with eight rebounds and Sheppard 13. The night also carried an ejection: Houston's Marcus Smart was thrown out late in the third quarter with a Flagrant 2 foul for punching Golden State's Charles Bassey, NBC Sports reported.

For the Metroplex, the result tightens the Southwest Division picture the Mavericks live in — a Texas rival winning the kind of game Dallas keeps needing somebody else to lose — and it sends a Curry question down the road: Golden State's five-game trip continues Friday night at San Antonio, the Spurs' first game since Wednesday's 22-point comeback in Chicago, with Curry's status the story of that matchup. Houston, meanwhile, hosts Utah on Friday night with a balanced attack that just beat the league's hottest team without needing a single 25-point scorer.