Buddy Hield scored 27 points off the bench and Jonathan Kuminga added six of his 23 points in overtime as the visiting Golden State Warriors claimed a 127-121 win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday.
After Houston erased a 31-point deficit to force the extra period, Kuminga scored twice in the post before adding a driving layup with 1:18 left in overtime to seal the victory. He grabbed six rebounds for the Warriors, who received 15 points from Andrew Wiggins and a double-double from Draymond Green (14 points, 11 rebounds) before he fouled out. The Warriors won despite Stephen Curry (ankle) missing a third consecutive game.
Tari Eason spearheaded the Houston comeback with 27 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three blocks off the bench. Amen Thompson paired 18 points with 11 rebounds off the bench while Jabari Smith Jr. added 21 points and seven boards to help fuel the second-half rally.
Houston began its surge back into contention in the third quarter paced by Eason, who tallied 12 points in that period. His 3-pointer at the 4:49 mark cut the deficit to 84-65, and that margin was 96-80 entering the fourth, during which Houston maintained the momentum.
Reed Sheppard and Smith hit 3-pointers to ignite a 13-0 blitz that opened the fourth. Thompson added a three-point play and a dunk before Wiggins’ free throw finally stalled the rally with 8:36 left.
Eason knotted the score at 98-98 at the 7:25 mark before Green answered with a 3-pointer 30 seconds later, the first basket of the fourth for the Warriors. But when Eason delivered a steal and transition layup, the Rockets secured their first lead at 102-101 with 5:54 left. The Warriors finally responded offensively, with Hield nailing a 3 that helped the Warriors reclaim the lead before Brandin Podziemski tallied seven fourth-quarter points to extend that margin to 118-112.
But another Smith 3-pointer and two Eason free throws with 8.1 seconds left forced overtime.
The Warriors blitzed the Rockets in the first quarter, connecting on eight 3s while recording 12 assists on 14 field goals. When Hield converted a Rockets turnover into a layup at the 9:03 mark of the second, the Warriors extended their 18-point advantage entering the period to 48-26. Kuminga and Gary Payton II added back-to-back 3-pointers before a pair of Moses Moody free throws lifted Golden State to a 69-38 lead with 1:43 left in the first half.
The Warriors made 12 of 20 shots both inside the arc and beyond it before the intermission.
