Klay Thompson catches fire, leads Warriors to 133-110 victory over Rockets

The Golden State Warriors defeated the Houston Rockets 133-110 on Thursday evening, solidifying their place in the play-in tournament standings. With their fifth consecutive win, it feels like the Warriors are playing some of their best basketball of the season right as the playoffs approach.

The Rockets briefly pulled within a game of the Warriors for the 10th seed in the Western Conference in the past few weeks, but Golden State entered the day three games ahead with a prime opportunity to put Houston four games back. After squandering plenty of winnable games this season, the Warriors avoided a lackadaisical start on Thursday.

The Dubs made 65% of their field-goal attempts in the first quarter and quickly jumped ahead by double digits. While the Warriors had an offensive rhythm that seemed to consistently generate open looks against Houston’s defense, the Rockets young squad struggled on the other end to find the same success.

Klay Thompson was particularly exceptional for the Warriors. He was 8-for-11 from the field in the first half and finished the contest with a game-high 29 points on 11-for-15 shooting (7-for-11 from three), 3 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Thompson was not the only Splash Brother having a highly-efficient night, however. Steph Curry may not have had the same success from deep, but still finished 9-for-14 from the field with 29 points, 6 boards, and 6 assists. He even got a favorable enough whistle to get 9 free-throw attempts.

With the Warriors outside game working to perfection, Trayce Jackson-Davis had a field day inside the paint as well. The rookie was 8-for-10 from the field, scoring 20 points alongside 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

The Warriors led 65-50 at the half, and their lead never dipped below 13 in the final two quarters. Instead of having to play his starters to the final whistle, head coach Steve Kerr got to ensure that only one Warriors player saw more than 30 minutes of action (Curry).

Now 42-34 on the season, the Warriors will finish with an above-.500 record for the 11th time in the past 12 years. Their Texas road trip continues tomorrow, where they will face the Dallas Mavericks.