In this article
HOUSTON — The Golden State Warriors lost Stephen Curry to injury less than six minutes into Wednesday night’s game, and the Houston Rockets went on to a 115-108 win at Toyota Center. The loss snapped Golden State’s eight-game winning streak, its longest since 2022.
Curry was ruled out with right abdominal soreness after scoring 3 points on 1-of-3 shooting. He entered the night averaging 30.6 points, second in the NBA. The Warriors pulled even once without him, tying the score at 49-49 late in the first half, but never took the lead. “And hopefully, Steph’s all right,” Durant said afterward in an on-court interview on ESPN.
Kevin Durant scored 20 points, 11 of them in the first quarter, and Alperen Şengün had 19 points, 13 rebounds, and 9 assists. Amen Thompson added 19, most of them in the third quarter, in which he made all seven of his shots. Houston is now 9-3 on the season, while Golden State fell to 8-4. Six Rockets finished in double figures, and Durant called that balance “just our calling card.” “So tonight was one of those nights for us,” he said.
Smart Ejected In Third Quarter
Houston finished the game without Marcus Smart. With 21 seconds left in the third quarter, officials ejected him for a flagrant foul 2 after he threw a punch at Warriors center Charles Bassey.
Rockets coach Ime Udoka said after the game that Smart was upset with how Bassey had wrapped up his elbow at the other end and told him so. “Bassey said, ‘What you gonna do?’” Udoka said.
Smart had made both of his shots, two 3-pointers, in 17 minutes. Bassey hit one of the two flagrant free throws and finished with 7 points and 6 rebounds.
Lendeborg Keeps Warriors Within Reach
Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, the 11th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, did most of his damage in the second quarter. He scored 13 of his 25 points in the period as Golden State wiped out a 35-20 deficit, and Şengün’s putback at the halftime buzzer put Houston back up 56-51. Lendeborg had 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting by halftime and 7 on 2-of-5 after it. Durant called the rookie “a matchup problem” and said Houston “tried to do everything we can to stop him that second half.”
The Warriors stayed within 10 points throughout the third and were down 85-79 heading into the fourth. Georges Niang and De’Anthony Melton opened the final quarter with 3-pointers to cut it to 88-85.
Sheppard Answers Off The Bench
After Thompson’s alley-oop layup, Reed Sheppard hit two 3-pointers 32 seconds apart for a 96-85 lead. Brandin Podziemski’s four-point play got the Warriors back within five, and Sheppard answered with another 3, the start of a 15-2 run that Fred VanVleet capped with a 32-footer for a 111-93 lead with 3:32 to go.
Sheppard finished with 13 points off the bench, all 9 of his fourth-quarter points on 3-pointers. VanVleet had 18 points, 6 assists, and 3 steals, and Jabari Smith Jr. added 14 points and 3 blocks. Houston won the paint 50-34.
Warriors Head To San Antonio
Lendeborg had 10 rebounds, Podziemski scored 22, and Melton added 11 after replacing Curry at halftime. In his first start this season, Al Horford shot 1-of-7, while the Warriors went 17-of-51 from three as a team.
Golden State was already playing without Jimmy Butler III and Moses Moody, both recovering from surgery, along with Gary Payton II (left knee inflammation) and Brandon Williams (left hamstring strain). Kristaps Porziņģis was listed as not with the team.
The Warriors make their next road stop in San Antonio on Friday at 8:30 p.m. CT. Houston hosts the Utah Jazz that night at 7:30 p.m. CT.
Join the conversation