Steph Curry bests Kevin Porter Jr. in late duel as Warriors hold off Rockets

This time, it didn’t take until the final buzzer for All-Star guard Steph Curry to bury the Houston Rockets. The future Hall of Famer scored a game-high 40 points with seven 3-pointers, including the most fourth-quarter points (21) in any regular-season game of Curry’s storied career, lifting Golden State to a 122-108 victory (box score).

The Warriors (38-13) won their sixth straight game to stay at No. 2 in the Western Conference, while the Rockets (14-36) lost an 11th straight home game at Toyota Center and remain in last place.

This game, however, was much more fun and competitive than many of Houston’s other home losses since Dec. 8. After trailing by 18 points with barely over two minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Rockets fought back to within four on multiple occasions in the final quarter, but Curry’s barrage of treys kept them at arm’s length.

The key difference maker in Houston’s late comeback was Kevin Porter Jr. (17 points, 11 assists), who hit four 3-pointers in the second half and even got in some trash talk during a back-and-forth with Curry. After spending the first half largely as a facilitator, with 3 points and 8 assists, Porter took over as a scorer in the second half to keep things close.

Christian Wood led the Rockets with 24 points and 13 rebounds, but he took only one shot in the fourth quarter and also had a game-high 6 turnovers. Both Porter and Wood shot 5-of-9 on 3-pointers (55.6%).

Garrison Mathews added 11 points off the bench on 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point range (50.0%), including multiple big makes in the fourth quarter to keep the Rockets within striking distance. Rookie Josh Christopher (13 points, 5 assists) also fared very well as a reserve in 19 minutes.

Unfortunately, those showings were offset by a pair of subpar nights in the starting lineup by veteran Eric Gordon and rookie Jalen Green, who combined for 22 points on 6-of-22 shooting (27.3%). For Green, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft, his recent slump continues — though he did score in double-figures for a second straight game.

Houston will wrap up its four-game homestand with Wednesday’s visit from Cleveland, with tipoff set for 7:00 p.m. Central. Until then, scroll on for highlights and postgame reaction from Monday night.

Highlights

Stephen Silas on Josh Christopher

Stephen Silas on Steph Curry

Rockets appreciate effort

Steve Kerr on Rockets

Steph Curry on Kevin Porter Jr.

Kevin Porter Jr. on Steph Curry

Kevin Porter Jr. on his return

Christian Wood