Sengun’s 19 points, 14 rebounds power Rockets past Warriors 106-96 as Curry struggles
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Alperen Sengun had 19 points and 14 rebounds, Dillon Brooks scored 24 points and the Houston Rockets snapped the Golden State Warriors’ five-game winning streak with a 106-96 victory Sunday night in a matchup of Western Conference powers.
Stephen Curry was held to three points on 1-for-10 shooting — missing seven of eight 3-pointers — for his lowest total this season in a game he was healthy. Curry scored two points Dec. 19 at Memphis, but suffered a pelvic contusion in a hard fall.
Jalen Green scored 21 points and Jabari Smith Jr. tested his right ankle sprain before the game and came off the bench to score 16 points for Houston, currently ranked second in the West standings with three games to go.
Buddy Hield had 20 points and Brandin Podziemski 19 points to lead the Warriors.
Takeaways
Rockets: Snapped a seven-game losing streak on the Warriors’ home floor dating to a 135-105 win on Feb. 20, 2020. … Houston has three straight games in California before returning home to host Denver in Sunday’s regular-season finale.
Warriors: Curry (25,281) passed Reggie Miller (25,279) for 24th place on the NBA’s career scoring list. … The Warriors had won 10 of 11 at home.
Key moment
With 9:57 left in the third quarter, officials reviewed and determined that Draymond Green’s forceful driving layup into Sengun qualified as a Flagrant 1 foul when the 6-foot-11 Sengun’s neck jerked backward — specifying that the contact with the head played a factor in the ruling. It was Green’s fifth personal.
Key stat
Curry didn’t score until his 37-foot 3-pointer 2 seconds before halftime on his third shot of the night facing constant pressure — but he dished out seven of his eight assists before the break.
Up next
The Rockets play at the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night, while Golden State visits Phoenix on Tuesday before returning to host the Spurs a night later in the back-to-back.
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