(Sports Network) - The last time the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors
met, the Rockets matched some NBA history from long range and things got very
chippy late in the game.
The two teams will meet one week later at Oracle Arena Tuesday night and the
Warriors haven't been the same since the Rockets made 23 3-pointers against
them.
Golden State dropped all four games on a recent road trip and the battle with
Houston started the slide. With the Rockets chucking up 3's to tie the NBA
record, Warriors coach Mark Jackson instructed his team to foul to prevent
Houston from tying the mark.
Draymond Green and Marcus Morris were both ejected late after a minor scuffle,
but the Warriors struggled the rest of their trip. They fell to the Oklahoma
City Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks.
"We need to learn from our mistakes on that road trip," said center Andrew
Bogut, who missed the OKC and Dallas games as he's still not ready to play
back-to-back nights. "It is only four games, but it is a wake-up call."
Steph Curry led the Warriors with 18 points against the Mavs on Saturday and
five Golden State players scored in double figures. Jarrett Jack also missed
the Dallas game with a bruised right shoulder and he's listed as questionable
for Tuesday.
The Warriors, who allowed 118.5 ppg during the disastrous road trip, unveiled
new uniforms this week. They will wear the first-ever modern short-sleeve
uniform, starting on Feb. 22 and for two other home games this season.
The Rockets are 1-2 since the epic victory over the Warriors one week ago.
They fell in Miami to the defending champion Heat, beat the Portland Trail
Blazers at home, then lost to the Sacramento Kings in Sacramento, 117-111, on
Sunday.
James Harden led the way for the Rockets against the Kings with 30. Patrick
Patterson, Omer Asik, Carlos Delfino and Jeremy Lin scored in double figures
as well.
Houston allowed the Kings to shoot 55 percent from the 3-point line and went
10-for-33 from beyond the arc.
"They made some threes. They broke us down, got into the paint, collapsed us
and made it," said Rockets coach Kevin McHale. "We talked about two things we
didn't do: we didn't contain the ball which we had to do; they got where they
wanted to go off the dribble, off the pick-and-roll, off Isaiah Thomas, off
whoever had it, and offensive rebounds. They did both."
The Kings tallied 15 offensive rebounds against the Rockets on Sunday.
Houston won this season's earlier matchup and is 18-6 in its last 24 against
the Warriors. The Rockets have taken six of their last eight in Golden State.
The Sports Network