Game ID: 42400151
Golden State Warriors @ Houston Rockets
Sunday, April 20, 2025 at 9:30 PM ET
Toyota Center, Houston, TX
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
HOU 21 13 26 25 85GSW 18 29 22 26 95
GSW @ HOU ScoutingGSW @ HOU Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
HOU availability going into 4/06 · 1 day's restOUT Dante missed 17 since 3/04, out tonight
BACK Whitmore back 3/30 after 7, 9 min since (56% of 15)
BACK Sheppard back 3/30 after 11, 7 min since (60% of 12)
BACK Landale back 3/27 after 4, 16 min since (140% of 12)
BACK Jef. Green back 3/30 after 4, 8 min since (71% of 12)
BACK Tate back 3/30 after 5, 13 min since (117% of 11)
HOU availability going into 4/09 · 2 days' restOUT Dante missed 18 since 3/04, returns tonight: 14 min (107% of 13)
OUT Landale missed 2 since 4/04, returns tonight: 34 min (294% of 12)
OUT Jef. Green missed 2 since 4/04, returns tonight: 18 min (161% of 12)
BACK Whitmore back 3/30 after 7, 7 min since (44% of 15)
BACK Sheppard back 3/30 after 11, 6 min since (48% of 12)
BACK Tate back 3/30 after 5, 10 min since (90% of 11)
HOU availability going into 4/11 · 1 day's restBACK Dante back 4/09 after 18, 14 min since (107% of 13)
BACK Landale back 4/09 after 2, 34 min since (294% of 12)
BACK Jef. Green back 4/09 after 2, 18 min since (161% of 12)
HOU availability going into 4/13 · 1 day's restOUT VanVleet missed 2 since 4/09, returns tonight: 27 min (76% of 36)
OUT Thompson missed 2 since 4/09, returns tonight: 26 min (81% of 32)
OUT Sengun missed 2 since 4/09, returns tonight: 24 min (74% of 32)
OUT Brooks missed 2 since 4/09, returns tonight: 22 min (70% of 32)
OUT Smith Jr. missed 2 since 4/09, out tonight
OUT Adams missed 2 since 4/09, returns tonight: 17 min (116% of 15)
BACK Dante back 4/09 after 18, 14 min since (110% of 13)
BACK Landale back 4/09 after 2, 29 min since (252% of 12)
BACK Jef. Green back 4/09 after 2, 20 min since (176% of 12)
NEW Sheppard 12 to 18 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 4/20 · 6 days' restOUT Smith Jr. missed 3 since 4/09, returns tonight: 25 min (88% of 29)
OUT Tate missed 2 since 4/11, out tonight
BACK VanVleet back 4/13 after 2, 27 min since (76% of 36)
BACK Thompson back 4/13 after 2, 26 min since (81% of 32)
BACK Sengun back 4/13 after 2, 24 min since (74% of 32)
BACK Brooks back 4/13 after 2, 22 min since (70% of 32)
BACK Adams back 4/13 after 2, 17 min since (116% of 15)
BACK Dante back 4/09 after 18, 11 min since (84% of 13)
BACK Landale back 4/09 after 2, 23 min since (195% of 12)
BACK Jef. Green back 4/09 after 2, 17 min since (150% of 12)
NEW Sheppard 12 to 19 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 4/23 · 2 days' restOUT Tate missed 3 since 4/11, out tonight
BACK VanVleet back 4/13 after 2, 34 min since (95% of 36)
BACK Thompson back 4/13 after 2, 30 min since (92% of 32)
BACK Sengun back 4/13 after 2, 30 min since (93% of 32)
BACK Brooks back 4/13 after 2, 28 min since (89% of 32)
BACK Smith Jr. back 4/20 after 3, 25 min since (88% of 29)
BACK Adams back 4/13 after 2, 18 min since (124% of 15)
BACK Dante back 4/09 after 18, 11 min since (84% of 13)
BACK Landale back 4/09 after 2, 23 min since (195% of 12)
BACK Jef. Green back 4/09 after 2, 17 min since (150% of 12)
NEW Whitmore 15 to 22 min over the last 4
NEW Sheppard 12 to 24 min over the last 4
HOU availability going into 4/26 · 2 days' restOUT Landale missed 2 since 4/20, out tonight
OUT Tate missed 4 since 4/11, out tonight
BACK VanVleet back 4/13 after 2, 37 min since (103% of 36)
BACK Thompson back 4/13 after 2, 27 min since (85% of 32)
BACK Sengun back 4/13 after 2, 32 min since (101% of 32)
BACK Brooks back 4/13 after 2, 27 min since (85% of 32)
BACK Smith Jr. back 4/20 after 3, 25 min since (85% of 29)
BACK Adams back 4/13 after 2, 18 min since (120% of 15)
BACK Dante back 4/09 after 18, 11 min since (84% of 13)
BACK Jef. Green back 4/09 after 2, 13 min since (117% of 12)
NEW Whitmore 15 to 22 min over the last 4
NEW Sheppard 12 to 24 min over the last 4
HOU availability going into 4/28 · 1 day's restOUT Landale missed 3 since 4/20, out tonight
OUT Tate missed 5 since 4/11, out tonight
BACK VanVleet back 4/13 after 2, 38 min since (105% of 36)
BACK Thompson back 4/13 after 2, 30 min since (92% of 32)
BACK Sengun back 4/13 after 2, 32 min since (102% of 32)
BACK Brooks back 4/13 after 2, 27 min since (86% of 32)
BACK Smith Jr. back 4/20 after 3, 25 min since (86% of 29)
BACK Adams back 4/13 after 2, 18 min since (121% of 15)
NEW Sheppard 12 to 20 min over the last 3
HOU availability going into 4/30 · 1 day's restOUT Whitmore missed 2 since 4/26, returns tonight: 2 min (11% of 15)
OUT Holiday missed 2 since 4/26, returns tonight: 16 min (130% of 13)
OUT Sheppard missed 2 since 4/26, returns tonight: 7 min (55% of 12)
OUT Landale missed 4 since 4/20, returns tonight: 5 min (41% of 12)
OUT Jef. Green missed 2 since 4/26, returns tonight: 2 min (15% of 12)
OUT Tate missed 6 since 4/11, out tonight
BACK VanVleet back 4/13 after 2, 38 min since (107% of 36)
BACK Thompson back 4/13 after 2, 30 min since (93% of 32)
BACK Sengun back 4/13 after 2, 34 min since (108% of 32)
BACK Brooks back 4/13 after 2, 29 min since (92% of 32)
BACK Smith Jr. back 4/20 after 3, 24 min since (84% of 29)
BACK Adams back 4/13 after 2, 20 min since (132% of 15)
GSW availability going into 4/08 · 1 day's restBACK Payton II back 4/04 after 4, 11 min since (74% of 15)
BACK Jackson-Davis back 4/04 after 2, 1 min since (9% of 15)
GSW availability going into 4/09 · back-to-backBACK Payton II back 4/04 after 4, 11 min since (74% of 15)
BACK Jackson-Davis back 4/04 after 2, 7 min since (48% of 15)
GSW availability going into 4/11 · 1 day's restOUT Post missed 2 since 4/08, returns tonight: 16 min (101% of 15)
OUT Payton II missed 2 since 4/08, returns tonight: 14 min (93% of 15)
BACK Jackson-Davis back 4/04 after 2, 6 min since (41% of 15)
GSW availability going into 4/13 · 1 day's restBACK Post back 4/11 after 2, 16 min since (101% of 15)
BACK Payton II back 4/04 after 4, 12 min since (80% of 15)
BACK Jackson-Davis back 4/04 after 2, 5 min since (37% of 15)
GSW availability going into 4/20 · 6 days' restBACK Post back 4/11 after 2, 13 min since (84% of 15)
BACK Payton II back 4/11 after 2, 20 min since (128% of 15)
GSW availability going into 4/23 · 2 days' restOUT Kuminga missed 2 since 4/13, returns tonight: 26 min (108% of 24)
OUT Jackson-Davis missed 2 since 4/13, returns tonight: 4 min (25% of 15)
BACK Post back 4/11 after 2, 13 min since (82% of 15)
BACK Payton II back 4/11 after 2, 18 min since (120% of 15)
NEW Podziemski 28 to 33 min over the last 5
GSW availability going into 4/26 · 2 days' restBACK Kuminga back 4/23 after 2, 26 min since (108% of 24)
BACK Post back 4/11 after 2, 16 min since (102% of 15)
BACK Payton II back 4/11 after 2, 17 min since (110% of 15)
BACK Jackson-Davis back 4/23 after 2, 4 min since (25% of 15)
NEW Moody 21 to 27 min over the last 5
GSW availability going into 4/28 · 1 day's restBACK Kuminga back 4/23 after 2, 21 min since (89% of 24)
BACK Post back 4/11 after 2, 18 min since (117% of 15)
BACK Payton II back 4/11 after 2, 18 min since (116% of 15)
BACK Jackson-Davis back 4/23 after 2, 4 min since (25% of 15)
GSW availability going into 4/30 · 1 day's restBACK Kuminga back 4/23 after 2, 21 min since (89% of 24)
BACK Jackson-Davis back 4/23 after 2, 5 min since (32% of 15)
NEW Curry 32 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Podziemski 28 to 33 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 121, shooting 48 percent and 40 from three, 16 free throws a game; Sengun at 21 and Thompson at 15 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Smith Jr. (3 straight). 6 days' rest. Golden State comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 105, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 25 free throws a game; Curry at 22 and Butler III at 21 a game. 6 days' rest.
So: Golden State wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Golden State allowing 105 a night to Houston's 121 and the line, where Golden State takes 25 free throws a game to Houston's 16. Call it Golden State 113, Houston 112, Houston keeping it close.
4/06 @ GSW 106-96 — HOU notes
HOU won 106-96. HOU shot 48% (45 of 93) to GSW's 42%, 10 of 30 from three. HOU turned it over 15 times to GSW's 20. Brooks led with 24 (10 of 13, 3 of 4 from three); Ja. Green added 21, Sengun 19. The hinge was Q2, 33-26: HOU came in trailing by 6 and left it ahead by 1, and the lead reached 16. Thompson was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
4/09 @ LAC 117-134 — HOU notes
HOU lost 117-134. HOU shot 51% (45 of 88) to LAC's 53%, 20 of 40 from three, and got to the line 10 times to LAC's 19. Sheppard led with 20 (7 of 14, 6 of 10 from three); Je. Green added 19, Eason 17. Q1 was theirs, 35-36, but the other 3 periods went 98-82 against them. Sheppard's -23 in 37 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/11 @ LAL 109-140 — HOU notes
HOU lost 109-140. HOU shot 46% (41 of 90) to LAL's 61%, 18 of 51 from three, and got to the line 12 times to LAL's 25. HOU turned it over 18 times to LAL's 12, and LAL turned those into 11 steals. Whitmore led with 34 (13 of 19, 7 of 12 from three); Sheppard added 14, Williams 12. Q3 was theirs, 31-29, the deficit cut from 22 to 20, but the other 3 periods went 111-78 against them. Sheppard's -27 in 41 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/13 vs DEN 111-126 — HOU notes
HOU lost 111-126. HOU took 12 more shots (100 to 88), fed by 16 offensive rebounds, but shot 45% to DEN's 51%, 12 of 34 from three, and got to the line 14 times to DEN's 31. VanVleet led with 15 (5 of 13, 3 of 8 from three); Thompson added 15, Sengun 14. Q4 was theirs, 40-24, the deficit cut from 31 to 15, but the other 3 periods went 102-71 against them. Adams's -23 in 17 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/20 vs GSW 85-95 — HOU notes
HOU lost 85-95. HOU took 11 more shots (87 to 76), fed by 22 offensive rebounds, but shot 39% to GSW's 47%, 6 of 29 from three, and went to the line 20 times to GSW's 14 — 11 points from the stripe to their 11. HOU turned it over 16 times to GSW's 11, and GSW turned those into 14 steals. The glass went 52-36 for them. Sengun led with 26 (11 of 18); Brooks added 11, Smith Jr. 11. Q3 was theirs, 26-22, the deficit cut from 13 to 9, but the other 3 periods went 73-59 against them. Thompson's -16 in 33 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/23 vs GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 118, shooting 46 percent and 36 from three, 14 free throws a game; Sengun at 20 and Whitmore at 14 a game. That is 4 straight losses. 2 days' rest. Golden State comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 101, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 25 free throws a game; Curry at 27 and Butler III at 23 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Kuminga (2 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Golden State wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Golden State allowing 101 a night to Houston's 118 and the line, where Golden State takes 25 free throws a game to Houston's 14. Call it Golden State 112, Houston 109, Houston keeping it close.
4/26 @ GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Golden State comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 104, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 22 free throws a game; Curry at 26 and Butler III at 22 a game. It has lost the glass by 10 a night. 2 days' rest. Houston comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 118, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 15 free throws a game; Sengun at 19 and Whitmore at 14 a game. 2 days' rest.
So: Golden State wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Houston has been plus-3 a night and Golden State minus-10 and the defense, Golden State allowing 104 a night to Houston's 118. Call it Golden State 112, Houston 108, Houston keeping it close.
4/28 @ GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Golden State comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 103 a night and allowing 99, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 20 free throws a game; Curry at 27 and Butler III at 20 a game. It has lost the glass by 12 a night. One day's rest. Houston comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 101 a night and allowing 112, shooting 43 percent and 34 from three, 18 free throws a game; Sengun at 18 and Whitmore at 15 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest.
So: Golden State wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Houston has been plus-6 a night and Golden State minus-12 and the defense, Golden State allowing 99 a night to Houston's 112. Call it Golden State 111, Houston 104.
4/30 vs GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 101 a night and allowing 106, shooting 44 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; Sengun at 21 and VanVleet at 15 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Whitmore (2 straight). One day's rest. Golden State comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 103, shooting 45 percent and 38 from three, 18 free throws a game; Curry at 28 and Butler III at 21 a game. It has lost the glass by 12 a night. One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Houston has been plus-8 a night and Golden State minus-12. Call it Houston 108, Golden State 107, Golden State keeping it close.
4/08 @ PHX 133-95 — GSW notes
GSW won 133-95. GSW shot 48% (45 of 93) to PHX's 40%, 15 of 40 from three, and went to the line 34 times to PHX's 15 — 28 points from the stripe to their 13. The glass went 57-41 for them. Curry led with 25 (9 of 17, 3 of 9 from three); Podziemski added 22, Jackson-Davis 13. The hinge was Q1, 37-24: from level to 13 ahead, and the lead reached 41. Curry was the night's best plus/minus at +31.
4/09 vs SAS 111-114 — GSW notes
GSW lost 111-114. GSW shot 42% (36 of 86) to SAS's 48%, 16 of 48 from three, and went to the line 28 times to SAS's 21 — 23 points from the stripe to their 18. Curry led with 30 (12 of 24, 5 of 14 from three); Butler III added 28, Green 13. Q3 was theirs, 37-21, turning a 4-point deficit into a 12-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 93-74 against them. They led by as many as 14.
4/11 @ POR 103-86 — GSW notes
GSW won 103-86. GSW shot 40% (33 of 83) to POR's 38%, 14 of 44 from three, and went to the line 28 times to POR's 22 — 23 points from the stripe to their 16. GSW turned it over 14 times to POR's 22. Butler III led with 24 (6 of 10, 11 of 11 at the line); Hield added 16, Curry 14. The hinge was Q2, 24-17: a lead of 6 became 13, and the lead reached 27. Podziemski was the night's best plus/minus at +31.
4/13 vs LAC 119-124 — GSW notes
GSW lost 119-124 in 1 overtime. GSW shot 54% (43 of 79) to LAC's 56%, 15 of 33 from three. The glass went 25-42 against them. Curry led with 36 (10 of 20, 7 of 12 from three, 9 of 9 at the line); Butler III added 30, Podziemski 19. Q1 was theirs, 33-25, but the other 4 periods went 99-86 against them. They led by as many as 12. Curry's -16 in 38 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/20 @ HOU 95-85 — GSW notes
GSW won 95-85. GSW shot 47% (36 of 76) to HOU's 39%, 12 of 32 from three, and got to the line 14 times to HOU's 20. GSW turned it over 11 times to HOU's 16. The glass went 36-52 against them. Curry led with 31 (12 of 19, 5 of 9 from three); Butler III added 25, Podziemski 14. The hinge was Q2, 29-13: GSW came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 13, and the lead reached 23. Podziemski was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
4/23 @ HOU — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 118, shooting 46 percent and 36 from three, 14 free throws a game; Sengun at 20 and Whitmore at 14 a game. That is 4 straight losses. 2 days' rest. Golden State comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 101, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 25 free throws a game; Curry at 27 and Butler III at 23 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Kuminga (2 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Golden State wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Golden State allowing 101 a night to Houston's 118 and the line, where Golden State takes 25 free throws a game to Houston's 14. Call it Golden State 112, Houston 109, Houston keeping it close.
4/26 vs HOU — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Golden State comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 104, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 22 free throws a game; Curry at 26 and Butler III at 22 a game. It has lost the glass by 10 a night. 2 days' rest. Houston comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 118, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 15 free throws a game; Sengun at 19 and Whitmore at 14 a game. 2 days' rest.
So: Golden State wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Houston has been plus-3 a night and Golden State minus-10 and the defense, Golden State allowing 104 a night to Houston's 118. Call it Golden State 112, Houston 108, Houston keeping it close.
4/28 vs HOU — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Golden State comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 103 a night and allowing 99, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 20 free throws a game; Curry at 27 and Butler III at 20 a game. It has lost the glass by 12 a night. One day's rest. Houston comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 101 a night and allowing 112, shooting 43 percent and 34 from three, 18 free throws a game; Sengun at 18 and Whitmore at 15 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest.
So: Golden State wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Houston has been plus-6 a night and Golden State minus-12 and the defense, Golden State allowing 99 a night to Houston's 112. Call it Golden State 111, Houston 104.
4/30 @ HOU — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 101 a night and allowing 106, shooting 44 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; Sengun at 21 and VanVleet at 15 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Whitmore (2 straight). One day's rest. Golden State comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 103, shooting 45 percent and 38 from three, 18 free throws a game; Curry at 28 and Butler III at 21 a game. It has lost the glass by 12 a night. One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Houston has been plus-8 a night and Golden State minus-12. Call it Houston 108, Golden State 107, Golden State keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
HOUAS A. Sengun
AT A. Thompson
DB D. Brooks
FV F. VanVleet
JG J. Green
JS J. Smith Jr.
JG Ja. Green
SA S. Adams
TE T. Eason
GSWBH B. Hield
BP B. Podziemski
DG D. Green
GP G. Payton II
GS G. Santos
JB J. Butler III
KL K. Looney
MM M. Moody
QP Q. Post
SC S. Curry
HOU/GSW the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Stephen Curry scores 31 points in the Warriors' 95-85 victory over the Rockets 95-85 in Game 1
HOUSTON -- — Draymond Green easily boiled down the key to Golden State's victory over the Houston Rockets in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series Sunday night.
“In order for us to win basketball games it requires Steph Curry to be great,” Green said. “And he was just that.”
Curry scored 31 points and the Warriors built a huge lead and held on to beat the Rockets 95-85.
Curry was 12 of 19 from the field, hitting 5 of 9 3-pointers. He wowed his teammates with a couple of circus shots that caused the bench to go wild.
Jimmy Butler added 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals in his playoff debut for the Warriors after joining them in a trade from Miami in February.
“(Curry) just made some amazing plays and obviously carried us offensively along with Jimmy,” coach Steve Kerr said.
The seventh-seeded Warriors led by 23 in the third quarter, but second-seeded Houston cut it to 69-60 entering the fourth.
A basket by Amen Thompson with about 5 1/2 minutes remaining got the Rockets within four. Curry hit his fifth 3-pointer of the night a few seconds later to make it 82-75.
The Rockets cut it to four again with about 2 1/2 minutes left on a 3 by Fred VanVleet . This time Moses Moody hit a 3-pointer to start a 7-0 run that made it 91-80 and sent fans streaming for the exits.
Game 2 of the best-of seven series is Wednesday night in Houston.
The Warriors got the win despite Houston having a 22-6 advantage on the offensive boards.
“I think we can play a lot better,” Green said. “That’s the encouraging part about it. I don’t think we played very well at all.”
It was the 100th career playoff coaching victory for Kerr, who moved into a tie with Larry Brown for sixth-most playoff wins.
“I’m lucky to coach the guys that I do,” Kerr said. “Players win games. It’s our job to try to help them along a little bit here and there.”
The Rockets, who returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2020, got 26 points from Alperen Sengun in his first career postseason game. But VanVleet and Jalen Green struggled, making just 7 of 34 shots.
“We just didn't execute,” VanVleet said. “Maybe the physicality was an issue, but I thought we matched that for the most part.”
VanVleet was 2 of 13 from 3-point range on a night Houston made just 6 of 29 3-pointers and was 11 for 20 on free throws.
The Warriors got a spot in the playoffs with a 121-116 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night in the Play-In Tournament.
They got yet another playoff victory over the Rockets after eliminating them four times from 2015-19.
Curry said this game felt different than those victories since these Rockets are a completely different team than the ones he faced back then.
“Playoff composure and experience in general allows you to kind of withstand the runs a little bit and not get flustered,” he said. “So we rely on that more than any of the history here.”