This is a continuation of the halftime recap of the Golden State Warriors at the Houston Rockets. The Dubs took a 64-59 lead into the third quarter.
3RD QUARTER: #SplashBrothers, Activate!
Everything went right for the Warriors in the third quarter. Golden State played brilliantly on both ends of the floor. Stephen Curry put on a clinic without even attempting a three-pointer, while Klay Thompson showed why he should be an All-Star this season.
The Warriors started with the simple things. Thompson drew a shooting foul faking his defender, Draymond Green “pulled the chair” on the bigger Donatas Motiejunas trying to post up strong inside, Curry went backdoor and Andrew Bogut found him. And Thompson stayed in front of James Harden, causing a steal by Green, which led to a line-drive pass to Curry, who flipped the ball in for an and-one against Patrick Beverley:
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The Splash Brothers also put on a clinic on how to enter the paint and convert bankshots. Curry showed off a left-handed version, Thompson got in the lane, faked his man and got his banker to go. Curry crossed the defense over and got a layup over Dwight Howard:
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David Lee also participated in the action, getting a point-blank shot to fall after missing the first two but being quick on his feet to get the second and third chance.
Houston head coach Kevin McHale tried to counter by going small by subbing out Howard, but then Marreese Speights had a strong take on Josh Smith in Dwight’s absence.
Lee stretched the Warriors lead to an astounding twenty points on this and-one dunk on a fastbreak after Trevor Ariza missed a three:
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After ending the second quarter on a 9-0 run, the Warriors ended the third on a 12-0 run.
Three more charges punctuated the game: Curry stepped over on help to take a charge on Harden, Harden’s fourth personal, Speights drew an offensive foul by Joey Dorsey, and Iguodala was called for a charge at the end of the quarter.
Why was the last charge, the one on Iguodala, remarkable? Because it was the Warriors’ only turnover in the period.
Curry and Thompson combined for 26 of Golden State’s 38 points in the third, while holding the Rockets to 21. Klay also forced 3 turnovers by Harden.
4TH QUARTER:
Speights continued his defensive contribution, getting Harden to commit his fifth personal as Iguodala noticed the switch in the post. McHale, however, kept Harden in the game, but it wouldn’t make a difference as Harden ended up 4-for-15 from the field, 0-for-4 downtown, for just 12 points, 15 below his league-leading average.
The Rockets made one last spurt, as Kostas Papaniklaou got a three and a run-out dunk after turnovers by Curry and Iguodala. Kerr called timeout, but Golden State was still up, 110-94, with 7:05 to go.
Curry then put the nail in the coffin.
First, he splashed a three from the left elbow to make it 117-94 with 5:27 to play, then he moved his feet on the retreat of a Patrick Beverley drive and slapped the ball out.
Finally, a missed alley-oop by Andrew Bogut resulted in a defensive rebound in the corner by Alexey Shved. But Curry timed Shved’s outlet, deflected the ball, chased it down and, as he controlled the dribble going away from the paint, made a no-look pass behind to a cutting Harrison Barnes for the emphatic dunk:
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After Beverley missed a three-pointer, Bogut corralled the rebound and Kerr called timeout with 4:03 remaining and the Warriors dominating, 119-94, to empty the bench.
Fittingly, both Curry and Thompson scored 27 points apiece. Curry added 11 assists, 3 steals, and 3 turnovers, while Thompson tallied 5 blocked shots. The duo combined to go 18-for-33 from the field and 5-for-13 downtown. Lee added 18 points, 8-for-13 shooting, and 8 rebounds and Speights 15 points on 6-for-12 field, both off the bench.
Howard led the Rockets with 23 points, 10 rebounds.
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