ROCKETS FALL IN OT
Warriors outlast Rockets 127-121 in OT after squandering big lead
Nov 4, 2024, 12:19 pm
ROCKETS FALL IN OT
Buddy Hield scored 27 points and the Golden State Warriors squandered a huge lead before outlasting the Houston Rockets 127-121 in overtime Saturday night.
It’s Golden State’s 14th straight-regular season win over the Rockets and the eighth in a row in Houston.
The Warriors led by 31 points in the first half. The Rockets tied it with an 18-2 run to open the fourth quarter.
Golden State scored the first six points in overtime to make it 125-119 and went on to a third straight win without Steph Curry, who is out with a sprained left ankle.
The Warriors led by five before a 3-pointer by Jabari Smith Jr. cut the lead to 119-117 with 15.5 seconds to go in regulation. Aaron Holiday stole the ball from Draymond Green and he fouled out a few seconds later. Tari Eason made two free throws after that to send it to overtime.
Eason led the Rockets with a career-high 27 points. Smith added 21.
Andrew Wiggins added 15 points for Golden State in his return after missing two games with a strained back.
Warriors: Golden State continued to win without Curry, improving to 5-1 this season. The team said he will be re-evaluated Sunday to see how much longer he’ll be out.
Rockets: Houston played much better after halftime than it did in an awful first half but couldn’t close it out to build on consecutive wins at San Antonio and Dallas.
Jonathan Kuminga scored the first two baskets of overtime to make it 123-119. He finished with 23 points.
Houston made just 1 of 12 shots in overtime.
The Rockets host the Knicks on Monday night, while the Warriors visit Washington Monday night.
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The Houston Astros have looked like one of baseball’s most dangerous teams in recent weeks, riding a hot streak fueled by dominant starting pitching and a red-hot offense that’s erupted for double-digit runs in four of their last eight games. But behind the current success, there are fair questions about whether this pace is truly sustainable as the grind of the season continues.
Yes, the Astros are winning — and winning big — but context matters. Many of their recent victories have come against struggling clubs like the White Sox and Athletics. Even matchups against the Twins and Guardians, while respectable, don’t exactly represent championship-caliber tests. That soft stretch of the schedule has certainly helped Houston pad its win column, but it may not be the best predictor of long-term performance. Houston will be tested in the upcoming series against the Phillies and Cubs.
On the pitching side, the numbers have been impressive, but how repeatable is it? With Lance McCullers Jr. sidelined for at least a couple of weeks, the Astros are relying on a patchwork rotation that includes unproven arms like Colton Gordon, Ryan Gusto, and Brandon Walter. While each has shown flashes, asking them to shoulder the load deep into the summer may be a tall order.
Offensively, Houston is firing on all cylinders. But scoring 10 or more runs every other game simply isn’t sustainable over a 162-game season. Regression is inevitable; the question is how the team responds when the bats cool down or the bullpen is asked to carry more weight.
Amid all this, rookie third baseman Cam Smith continues to shine. Just a few months into his major league career, Smith is producing at a level that suggests he’s not just a key piece of the future — he’s already one of the team’s most valuable players. His batting average sits just a point behind Jose Altuve’s, and his OPS is even higher. If the Astros were forced to choose two players to build around long-term, factoring in youth and contract status, the logical duo might be Smith and breakout pitcher Hunter Brown.
So what about the big picture? Is this team a true World Series contender?
Oddsmakers currently have Houston with the seventh-best odds to win it all, and only the Yankees and Tigers rank higher among American League teams. The core is still there, the experience is undeniable, and if the pitching continues to hold — especially with the anticipated return of Spencer Arrighetti and a healthy McCullers — the Astros have every reason to believe they’ll be in the mix deep into October.
But that’s a big “if.” The ceiling is still high, and with Cam Smith emerging as a star in real time, this team might just have another gear. Whether they can reach it when the competition stiffens, that remains to be seen.
There's so much more to cover! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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