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Chris Paul had 23 points and 17 assists as the Houston Rockets beat the Golden State Warriors 118-112 on Saturday at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.
Houston was without MVP candidate James Harden, who sat with a cervical strain. Warriors forward Draymond Green was forced to leave early in the fourth quarter after suffering a left ankle sprain.
Eric Gordon led the Rockets with 25 points, and Kenneth Faried added a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Kevin Durant scored 29 points for the 42-17 Warriors, who have lost just three of their last 20 games.
The 34-25 Rockets broke a two-game losing streak.
Rockets Cannot Make Deep Playoff Run Without Peak Chris Paul
In October, Paul told reporters that he couldn’t “throw the ball in the ocean.” A seven-game stretch spanning Oct. 26 through Nov. 10 wasn’t kind to the Rockets’ floor general, as he made just 34.9 percent of his shots. He also hit just 36.8 percent of his field goals in December.
Those struggles are now distant memories, and the rest of Paul’s game is at its season peak.
Paul has 46 points, 26 assists, 15 rebounds and three steals in his last two games. He also willed the Rockets, who scored the game’s first 15 points, to victory on Saturday despite Vegas Insider listing them as 12-point underdogs.
He shot 7-of-18, but that didn’t matter much as he showed why he can be a serious problem for the Warriors or any other playoff team.
Of note, his ability to thread passes in tight windows might be unmatched by any NBA player:
https://t.co/ew86P85xPENBA @NBA
Chris Paul dishes out his 10th assist for the Nene slam!
#Rockets 50
#DubNation 35
: #NBAonABC https://t.co/waqejN1sDX
He can also put the ball on a string:
NBA @NBA
@CP3 drops 23 PTS and gives out a season-high 17 helpers to guide the @HoustonRockets past GSW on the road! #Rockets https://t.co/OnIYgRsCks
Paul had seven points and four assists in the last 8:32 of the game to help seal the Rockets’ win.
The Rockets need this version of him to make a postseason run. He has already been an invaluable resource for Houston during the postseason, averaging 21.1 points on 45.9 percent shooting in addition to 5.9 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.0 steals in 2018.
The Rockets went 11-4 with Paul on the floor and were leading the Warriors three games to two in the Western Conference Finals. However, a strained hamstring forced Paul to miss the final two matchups versus Golden State, and the Warriors won both of those en route to an NBA Finals win.
But with Paul back healthy, the Rockets could be making another deep run.
Golden State’s Struggling Starting Lineup Not Cause for Concern
Early returns on the Warriors’ starting lineup with DeMarcus Cousins holding the fort down low have not been great.
Per Anthony Slater of The Athletic, that group of five was a minus-nine after 130 minutes together. Slater also noted that Cousins has been in foul trouble in nine of 13 games.
The latter fact is a bit troublesome considering Cousins has been on a minutes restriction since his mid-January return and still hasn’t played above 30 minutes even with the limit lifted post-All-Star break. Cousins has also had a negative plus-minus in seven of his 13 games even though the Warriors are 11-2 with the big man on the floor this year.
A loss to the Harden-less Rockets at home with their entire starting five intact isn’t going to inspire much confidence, but there are a few things to keep in mind.
Cousins suffered a ruptured Achilles and was out for nearly an entire calendar year. That isn’t exactly easy to come back from, especially for a nine-year veteran. He’s only played 13 games and has shown flashes of the All-Star and Olympic gold medalist who has dominated in years past.
Also, Cousins and his teammates need time to develop their chemistry. There’s no magic wand that will instantly form the starting unit into the best version of itself immediately.
They’re also still in the driver’s seat in the Western Conference, 1.5 games ahead of the Denver Nuggets for the No. 1 seed. The playoffs don’t start for another month-and-a-half, so there’s plenty of time for the starting five to coalesce.
What’s Next?
Both teams play next on Monday. The Rockets will host the Atlanta Hawks, and the Warriors will begin a four-game Eastern Conference road trip against the Charlotte Hornets.
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