With 21 points and 9 rebounds in 26 minutes, Christian Wood fared well Wednesday in his first game since spraining his right ankle in early February. However, it wasn’t enough to keep the Rockets from an 18th straight loss, which is now the longest skid in franchise history.
Reserve guard Jordan Poole led the visiting Warriors (20-20) with 23 points in the 108-92 victory (box score) at Toyota Center, including 6-of-11 on 3-pointers (54.5%). Kelly Oubre Jr. (19), Steph Curry (18), Andrew Wiggins (17), and Draymond Green (16) all scored in double-figures, with Green (12 rebounds, 10 assists) accumulating a triple-double.
The Rockets were short-handed in the backcourt yet again, with guards John Wall (left knee contusion) and Eric Gordon (right groin strain) sidelined by injury and Victor Oladipo sitting out for planned maintenance on the second night of a back-to-back. Oladipo and Wall are expected back by Houston’s next game on Friday at home versus Detroit, though Gordon is likely to miss several more weeks.
While the 2021 playoffs are becoming almost assuredly out of reach, the Rockets (11-28) did see some promising signs — at least on offense — from their younger players. In addition to Wood, who connected on 8-of-12 shots (66.7%) from the field, second-year guard Kevin Porter Jr. had 25 points (50.0% FG), 7 assists, and 3 steals in 37 minutes. It was the first game for Porter and Wood to play together as teammates.
Rookie forward KJ Martin added 13 points and 9 rebounds off the bench, while Danuel House Jr. returned to the starting lineup after a five-game injury absence (right knee contusion) and added 11 points in 24 minutes. Houston struggled as a unit defensively, with Golden State scoring 68 points in the first half and leading throughout the game.
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