“We know we can score against most teams but defense has been our calling card,” Curry stated.
With 21 points from Thompson, the Warriors, who are ranked 10th in the Western Conference, never trailed and had a 15-point lead at the half. Five of his seven 3-pointers came in the first half of play.
Man, he was smoking and that was fun to watch,” coach Steve Kerr said. “He was feeling it right from the beginning.”
Kerr said he’s not focused on the standings, but rather how they can build on this momentum.
“We´re not thinking about any of that, we´re just trying to win,” he said. “We´re on a nice run right now and we´re playing good basketball. So we´re going to do that for the next six games and see where we land.”
They have won the previous 13 regular-season meetings between them and the Rockets, improving to 3-0 versus Houston this year.
“We know what´s at stake and we know how important these last games are,” Thompson stated. “So I thought we played with the sense of urgency we needed to get it done.”
The Rockets, who had won their previous 11 games, suffered their third straight defeat despite being led by Jabari Smith Jr. with 24 points. Off the bench, rookie Cam Whitmore scored 17 additional points.
Coach Ime Udoka advised, “You have to step up your game against higher caliber, high IQ teams.” ”
