In their last meeting with Houston, the Warriors needed Stephen Curry’s first career buzzer-beating game-winner to beat the Rockets.
It didn’t come to that in Monday’s rematch in Houston, as Curry poured in a career-high 21 fourth-quarter points, igniting the heat check performance that’s eluded him all January. He took ill-advised trash talk from Houston’s young guards with a stone face and shoved it back with winning time buckets.
Curry entered Monday shooting 31.3% from 3 in the month of January, the shooting month of his career. But he capped the month in Houston with a 40-point, nine-assist masterpiece in which he made seven of 14 triples.
With the help of Curry, the Warriors (38-13) held off the feisty Rockets, 122-108. Andrew Wiggins chipped in an efficient 23 points while Kevon Looney and Juan Toscano-Anderson gave GSW just enough of an inside presence to win.
The Warriors have now won six straight games, starting with Curry’s game-winner over the Rockets on Jan. 21.
Here are three takeaways from Golden State’s streak-extending victory.
Getting out and running
One of the biggest reasons Houston has the worst record in the Western Conference is their deficiency guarding in fast break situations. The Rockets allow 24 transition points per game — the most in the league.
Sometimes, they just don’t get back on defense quickly enough. Even when the effort for Stephen Silas’ group is there, their lack of switchable defenders makes them particularly vulnerable to cross-matchups.
So the Warriors attacked Houston’s weakness. And for a while, transition was by far GSW’s most reliable source of offense.
They pushed in transition after defensive rebounds, turnovers and even some made baskets. Especially when Golden State went small, they pushed the pace.
Jonathan Kuminga turned a steal into free throws. Curry threw hit-ahead passes to Juan Toscano-Anderson and Moses Moody, both of which led to buckets. Jordan Poole walked into a 3-pointer on a 3-on-1.
The Warriors scored 21 total transition points according to the official box score, but they tilted the pace in their favor. Easy points are a nice antidote to an offense that’s struggled at times lately.
Moody belongs
In eight G-League games with the Santa Cruz Warriors, Moses Moody is averaging 27.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. When a player — particularly of his pedigree — has that much success at the G-League level, it usually means they deserve some NBA playing time.
But the Warriors have so much depth, it’s not easy to find room in the rotation for the 14th overall pick out of Arkansas.
To reward Moody’s excellent play with Santa Cruz, the Warriors recalled him and inserted him into the starting lineup in Houston. Steve Kerr said pregame that he values Moody’s defensive versatility and shooting — two prerequisites for Golden State’s brand of basketball.
And it wasn’t just a token start. Moody hit a career-high three 3s — all the catch-and-shoot variety. On one play, he showed patience by passing up an open look, drawing in the defense and kicking out to Curry for a better shot on the perimeter.
More than anything, it didn’t look like Moody was out of place at all. Perhaps that was due to the competition, but still. He finished with 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting, plus two boards, an assist and a block in 25 minutes.
All year, Kerr and other Warriors have praised Moody, insisting that he has a bright future in the NBA. We just haven’t really seen it. On Monday, Golden State provided a glimpse.
JTAs don’t grow on trees
Juan Toscano-Anderson doesn’t have special talent, but he is a special player.
Malleable forwards like him are rare, and it’s even rarer to have them on the back-end of your bench like the Warriors do.
Without Nemanja Bjelica, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, Otto Porter Jr. and James Wiseman, the Warriors asked Toscano-Anderson to play backup center on Monday.
And of course, he obliged. Because no matter what he’s asked, no matter what role he’s given, Toscano-Anderson always tries to make the most of it. The same can’t be said about every NBA player, and there’s tremendous value in JTA’s attitude.
Against the Rockets, Toscano-Anderson (10 points, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block) ran the floor harder than everyone, competed in the low post against Christian Wood despite giving up four inches, kept the ball moving and set smart, strong screens. All the little things.
One play early in the fourth quarter, Josh Christopher had a runway for a wide open dunk after a poor decision by Kuminga, but Toscano-Anderson sprinted all the way back to disrupt Christopher and make him earn points at the free throw line. It was a quintessential JTA play.
He’s not a star. But Toscano-Anderson excelling in whatever role available to him is something GSW can rely on. He routinely provides energy, and on the front-end of a back-to-back in Texas, against a team some groups may overlook, the Warriors needed it.