Houston Rockets suffer first loss of season

Andrew Bogut grabs the rebound against Houston Rockets

Houston, Nov 9 (IANS) The Houston Rockets lost to the Golden State Warriors 87-98 at the Toyota Center, snapping their six-game winning streak in the new season. The Rockets played without centre Dwight Howard and power forward Terrence Jones, which gave the also unbeaten Warriors a decided advantage Saturday night, reports Xinhua.

The host team, nonetheless, managed to lead both in the first and second quarters and had a small lead of 56-48 at halftime.

But things got dramatically worse in the third. The Warriors outperformed the Rockets in every aspect and easily cut the deficit, leading 76-69 by the final period.

They kept the momentum and rolled past Houston, smashing the latter's unbeaten history in the new season.

James Harden led the Rockets with 22 points, and point guard Isaiah Canaan added 21. Stephen Curry scored 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Warriors.

The Rockets next head to Mexico City Wednesday to play the Minnesota Timberwolves.