Warriors Beat James Harden-less Rockets 124-114

There were just two NBA games on the schedule January 4th, but one featured the two best teams in the Western Conference, with the 30-8 Golden State Warriors at the 27-9 Houston Rockets. Houston led by four points after one quarter, and had a one point lead at halftime before Golden State pulled away for a 124-114 win.

Golden State was led by Stephen Curry’s 29 points; Klay Thompson had 28, and Draymond Green had a triple double with 17 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists. The Rockets got 30 points from Eric Gordon, 28 from Chris Paul, and 29 off the bench from Gerald Green. Notably missing, of course, is James Harden. The Rockets’ guard is out with a hamstring pull, suffered late in the team’s double overtime New Year’s Eve victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. He’ll be out two to six weeks, and speculation is leaning toward the six week absence. The Rockets are certainly not a one player team, but they’ll be tested with Harden on the shelf for any length of time. He’s having an outstanding season–as usual– and leads the league in scoring average at 32.3 points per game, and is tied for second in the league in assists at 9.1 per game.

The Warriors did have one of their big guns out for this game as well, with Kevin Durant out with a right calf strain, sustained in the team’s 125-122 win at Dallas on January 3rd. Durant’s injury is considered minor and he may only miss one game.