You can criticize the 2025-26 Golden State Warriors for a lot of things, but lack of heart is not one of them.
Missing Steph Curry, Moses Moody, Kristaps Porzingis and Gary Payton II, the Warriors rode an incredible team effort on defense to a 115-113 overtime win against the Houston Rockets. Draymond Green locked down Kevin Durant late and then the NBA’s burner account king missed two clutch free throws and accidentally made another in OT.
Brandin Podziemski led the Warriors with 26 points and nine
rebounds, but the shorthanded Warriors got contributions all the way down the roster. DeAnthony Melton scored 23 points, blocked two shots and got three steals. Green led the team with eight assists, scored 10 points and turned the ball over only once.
Al Horford scored 17, drained three threes and got a huge hustle block on Alperen Sengun in overtime. And Gui Santos had 14 points, six rebounds, and six assists and was +20 in 42 minutes, a remarkable accomplishment for a two-point victory. He also delivered what turned out to be only the second-most embarrassing moment of the game for Durant.
Golden State looked like they’d taken control of the game late in overtime when Podziemski hit a three and a driving layup on consecutive possessions, thanks to some powerful screens from Green.
The Warriors’ timely help defense on Durant forced a miss and they had the ball and a five-point lead with 1:20 to go.
It fell apart quickly. All-Defensive guard Amen Thompson stole the ball and got fouled. He split his free throws, but the Rockets got an offensive rebound and whipped the ball around to Durant, who canned a three to cut the lead to one. But the resilient Warriors went to the veteran Horford, who posted up Thompson, 16 years younger then him, and hit a bucket.
Durant drew a three-shot foul on Melton, and it looked like the game would be tied. After all, Durant had made 34 consecutive free throws. That streak would end at 36.
He missed the third freebie, then the Warriors got two offensive rebounds on their next possession before Melton scored for another three-point lead.
It’s a testament to the tenacity of the Warriors that they got the most important offensive rebound against the Houston Rockets. Up three, Green fouled Durant, who missed another free throw. Needing to miss and get an offensive rebound, KD accidentally made his final free throw.
To add insult to injury, the game ended after the Rockets let all but 0.1 seconds run off the clock before fouling, and Green threw the ball off Durant to end it. X.com user “getoffmydickerson” will surely have a lot to say about that later.
Steve Kerr has plenty of critics among Warriors fans and people writing this very recap, but Thursday’s game was another example of why he remains one of the NBA’s best-ever coaches. Somehow, the Warriors have a top-12 defense this season, and they handled everyone but Reed Sheppard (30 points, six threes) and forced 17 turnovers.
Out of a timeout just under four minutes, Kerr drew up a sweet out-of-bounds play for Green, who got an and-one off a dime from Brandin Podziemski.
Of course, the real secret to a killer defense is having Draymond Green. He did a great job of denying his old teammate the ball, but Sengun kept making tough shots to keep the Rockets in it. But, the Warriors won the mathematics battle, because three is more than two. De’Anthony Melton hit a three and then Al Horford nailed a huge triple off a broken play and a heads-up pass from Green.
At the end of regulation, Durant blocked Melton, a play originally called a foul and reversed, because this is what happens late in Rockets-Warriors games. The ageless Horford won the subsequent jump ball, but Thompson blew up the Warriors’ inbounds play to send the game to OT.
LJ Cryer had a strong performance back in the city of his college basketball glory. In his first game since Jan. 25, Cryer scored 12 points, guarded Reed Sheppard in big moments, sank four three-pointers and provided 20 crucial minutes for a Warriors team light on guards.
But the star was Podziemski. Eight days after his 23rd birthday, Podziemski took command of the offense late in games, grabbed five offensive rebounds and went 4-for-8 from behind the arc. For a player who seems to constantly draw the ire of the Warriors fanbase, Podziemski continues to do a lot of good things for his team, even while being clotheslined by Rockets defenders and being constantly whipped in the face by his beautiful, wild hair.
Golden State moves to 32-30 and 1.5 games ahead of the 9th-place Los Angeles Clippers. They’ll play the San Antonio Spurs Friday while the Warriors play the Oklahoma City Thunder Saturday, so let’s just assume they’ll be 32-31 1.5 games ahead on Sunday.
Except, after Thursday, you just never know with this team and their new adopted Splash Cousin LJ Cryer. There will be time enough to bemoan Kerr’s coaching decisions and the insane roster choices later. This is the time to savor the most satisfying Warriors win of the season.
