WARRIORS DOWN ROCKETS

Rockets bench sparks comeback but can’t overcome Warriors

Rockets Ime Udoka
Warriors defeat the Rockets, 105-98. Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images.

Stephen Curry scored 27 points and the Golden State Warriors withstood a late surge by the Houston Rockets for a 105-98 victory Thursday night.

The Warriors were clinging to a two-point lead before using a 11-2 run to make it 102-91 with about two minutes remaining. A highlight of that spurt came when Curry juked Jeff Green before swishing a 3-pointer and Jimmy Butler wowed the visitor’s bench with a two-handed dunk about a minute later.

Golden State led by as many as 24, and frustrated with the poor performance of his starters, Houston coach Ime Udoka benched Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun and Dillon Brooks to start the fourth quarter. The team’s backups keyed a 16-6 run that cut the lead to 88-86 with seven minutes left.

Nate Williams, who was playing in just his sixth game this season, had seven points in that stretch.

Udoka never re-inserted the three starters. Aaron Holiday led the Rockets by tying a career high with 25 points as Houston lost for the seventh time in nine games.

Takeaways

Warriors: Butler has played well in his first few games with Golden State and should only get more comfortable with his new team after the break.

Rockets: Houston’s stars must play better after the break if the team wants to stay in contention in the Western Conference and make the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

Key moment

Curry’s 3-pointer over Jeff Green during Golden State’s run that put away the game.

Key stat

Butler finished with 19 points after scoring at least 20 in his first three games since a trade from Miami.

Up next

The Rockets resume play after the All-Star break when they host the Timberwolves on Feb. 21. The Warriors visit the Kings that night.

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The injury bug bites again.Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images.

The Houston Astros announced on Monday that additional imaging has revealed that Jeremy Peña is dealing with a small fracture in one of his ribs.

Peña left Friday's game after being hit by a pitch in the ribs. The club originally believed they had avoided any fractures or breaks, but new information has informed them otherwise.

Peña is heading to the 10-day injured list retroactive to June 28. This news comes at an unfortunate time, with Jeremy posting the best regular season numbers of his career. He's currently slashing .322, .378, .489 with an .867 OPS.

Peña will miss the Rockies and Dodgers series at a minimum.

Let's hope the team doesn't rush him back too soon and create an even bigger problem. These quotes above from Dana Brown have me concerned. Playing through injuries can create bad habits, and Jeremy has clearly found his swing this season.

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