Back in the day, guys weren’t supposed to be this good this late. Kareem was the exception everybody pointed to for decades, still putting up 23.4 a night and making All-NBA at 38. LeBron is the recent exception. Everybody else got the farewell tour, the rocking chair at the end of the bench, and the jersey ceremony.
If you’ve ever iced a rec-league knee after a Tuesday night run, take a good long look at Steph Curry and Kevin Durant tonight. While most 38-year olds are having to take a day off of work
to go see their medical provider for their aching spines, these two are doing something most 25 year old hoopers can’t do. As of Nov. 9, of the 38 players in the league averaging at least 20 points, only two were older than 35, and they’ll be on the same floor in Houston. That’s love of the game, plus years of cold tubs, film sessions, and a burning desire to dominate.
Golden State Warriors at Houston Rockets
When: November 11th, 2026 | 6:30 PM PT
TV: ESPN
Radio: 95.7 The Game
Tonight is the 41st time these two have faced each other. Both teams are 8-3, and both are coming off seasons that ended beneath them. The Warriors went 37-45 and lost to Phoenix in the play-in. Houston won 52 games and then fell to the Lakers in the first round with Durant hobbled. Golden State has won eight straight, and its offense ranks second in the league, one spot ahead of Houston’s.
KD and Steph’s legacies are tied together for good. They went from playoff rivals in 2016 to teammates in Oakland, where they won two titles and Durant took home both Finals MVPs. In Paris in 2024, with France still threatening an upset, Steph swung the ball to Durant at the top of the key, and KD handed it right back. Steph buried a fadeaway three over Nic Batum and Evan Fournier to put the U.S. up nine with 35 seconds left. As teammates they’ve proven at the highest level how to make sure each other gets the ball when it’s their moment to shine. And nobody can seize the moment like these two hoopers can.
A crazy perspective on Curry now is the scoring he packs into the minutes he’s got. He’s averaging 30.6 points, with nights of 44 and 41 already. Through his first seven games, he was scoring 1.04 points per minute, a rate only Wilt Chamberlain, George Gervin, Luka Dončić and James Harden had topped that early in a season. Even Durant has noticed. Back in April he told NBA.com that Steph “got quicker and faster,” a terrifying thought for the rest of the league.
What’s ice cold about Durant nowadays is his level of control. His scoring is down to 21 a night, the lowest since his rookie year, but the possession still bends around him. He’s a 6-foot-11 sculpture of a jump shot who sits No. 5 on the all-time scoring list, and he just put up 23 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists on Denver.
That’s the problem Golden State has to solve tonight. When Durant has the ball, every defender leans toward him, and teammates like the All-Star Alperen Şengün make you pay for leaning. He’s averaging 21.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 7.8 assists, and with Houston missing Clint Capela and Steven Adams, even more of the offense will run through those two. Watch whether Draymond can sit on Şengün’s cuts and rolls without giving Durant a clean look. Golden State is still without Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody and Kristaps Porzingis. This morning’s official report also has Gary Payton II out and Will Richard questionable.
Steph owns the playoff edge at 4-3, all from that 2016 comeback. Since Durant left the Warriors, he’s 7-3 against Steph. Houston will take your lunch money in November, but April and May are another story, and the Warriors have five playoff series wins over the Rockets to prove it.
Savor this one. Two 38-year-olds are doing things the sport told us were impossible, and we get to watch it on a random Wednesday in November.
