Golden State Warriors Stop Houston Winning Streak In Overtime, 102-99

Feb 20, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) is called for a foul against Golden State Warriors power forward David Lee (10) during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Stephen Curry saved the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night, forcing overtime with a little floater with 3.2 seconds left to tie the game before scoring seven of the Warriors’ 13 points in overtime in a 102-99 victory over the Houston Rockets at Oracle Arena on Thursday night.

James Harden had a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but his 3-pointer was off-target. Curry opened overtime by burying a 3-pointer and the Warriors (33-22) never trailed in the extra session, salting the game away with a pair of free throws by Draymond Green with 4.1 seconds to go.

As the clock wound down in regulation, the Warriors took an 84-84 lead with 1:45 to go on a runner by David Lee, but Harden put Houston (37-18) back on top with a three-point play with 1:14 left. Lee hit a short floater to tie it back up before Harden buried a step-back jumper with 6.9 seconds remaining to put Houston up 89-87.

The Rockets had an early lead, going up by as many as eight points in the first quarter before Golden State rallied to lead 47-43 at halftime. The win by the Warriors snapped an eight-game win streak by the Rockets.

Lee paced the Warriors with 28 points and 14 rebounds. Curry had 25 points, Klay Thompson and Jordan Crawford each scored 12 and Andre Iguodala finished with 11 points and seven assists. Jermaine O’Neal had 10 rebounds and was also instrumental on the Warriors’ defensive work on Dwight Howard.

Houston’s All-Star center finished the night with 11 points, 21 rebounds and four blocked shots, but was just 4-for-13 from the floor. Harden led the Rockets with 39 points and five assists and Chandler Parsons had 21 points—on 8-of-24 shooting—to go with five dimes.

Steve Blake, making his Warrior debut, played 18 minutes and scored three points and had two rebounds and one assist on 1-of-5 shooting, including 1-of-4 from 3-point range. Blake was acquired Wednesday in a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Neither team shot the ball well. Houston was 37-for-101 (36.6 percent) overall, 9-for-30 (30 percent) from 3-point range and 16-for-25 (64 percent) at the foul line. Golden State was 37-for-93 (39.8 percent), 9-for-27 (33.3 percent) and 19-for-24 (79.2 percent).

The Rockets had a 60-49 advantage on the glass—the most rebounds by any Warrior opponent this season—and outscored Golden State in the paint 48-44 and on the fast break 23-13. The Warriors took care of the ball, committing only 12 turnovers that Houston converted into 16 points. The Rockets gave up the ball 16 times and Golden State had 18 points off those opportunities.

The Warriors will be home again Saturday night, hosting the Brooklyn Nets at 7:30 p.m.