NBA 2018-19: 3 Talking Points from Golden State Warriors vs Houston Rockets

The Golden State Warriors avoided a season sweep against the Houston Rockets by getting a 106-104 win at the Toyota Center.

The Warriors had lost all three previous encounters against the Rockets this season and needed to win this one without Kevin Durant who was out due to an ankle injury.

The Warriors were locked in from the start and took a 10 point lead after the first quarter. DeMarcus Cousins had a great game for the team and finished with 27 points.

With the win, the Warriors consolidated their lead at the top of the Western Conference and have a 46-21 record. They are 1.5 games ahead of the second placed team, Denver Nuggets.

Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets dropped one place to occupy the fourth place in the Western Conference playoff standings. They have a 42-26 record. This loss also ended the 9 game winning streak for the Rockets.

Let's have a look at the key talking points from this match:

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#3 Great effort shown by the Warriors

Green needs to improve on the offensive end

The Warriors were seen everywhere in this match. They were highly motivated to win this one after a horrific loss against the bottom feeders, Phoenix Suns. They won most of the 50-50 balls and showed great hustle throughout this encounter.

The Warriors also outrebounded the Rockets by 44-31. They had a 12-5 advantage on the offensive glass. The Warriors are not a great rebounding team but they showed great tenacity to gain an advantage in this match.

DeMarcus Cousins led the Warriors with 8 rebounds. Kevon Looney and Klay Thompson had 6 rebounds each.

Despite this win, there is one big problem looming for the Warriors with the playoffs just around the corner. The offensive effectiveness of Draymond Green. Green needs to improve his outside shots as he has turned into an offensive liability this season.

#2 Poor outside shooting from the Rockets

Harden was totally off the mark in this match

The Rockets are ranked number 1 in the NBA when it comes to three-point attempts per game. They live and die by the three-point line.

In this match, they again attempted a lot of threes but failed to make a good percentage. They shot only 11-41 from the 3PT line and their 3 point shots hampered them for the entire match. James Harden was wayward from outside.

He scored the team high 29 points but only managed to shoot 2-12 from beyond the arc. Harden is the leader in three-point makes this season.

P.J. Tucker, who is a very good outside shooter, struggled in this match and shot only 1-7 from the 3PT line.

The Rockets need to be consistent from the 3PT line if they want to be serious contenders during the playoffs.

#1 Great display from the trio of Curry, Klay and Cousins

Steph had 24 points in the match

The Warriors didn't seem to miss Kevin Durant in this match. In his absence, DeMarcus Cousins stepped up and had his best game of the season. Cousins had a great all-round game and totally dominated from inside.

Cousins finished with 27 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists for the match on an unbelievable 11-16 shooting from the field.

Klay Thompson also continued his hot shooting stroke. He finished with the game-high 30 points on 12-23 shooting from the floor and 5-10 shooting from the 3PT line. Klay is having another superb season for the Warriors and is averaging 22.5 points per game for the season.

Stephen Curry scored 24 points in this match. He had only 3 made shots from outside ending his run of 12 straight games with 4 or more makes from the 3PT line.

The Warriors next visit the Oklahoma City Thunder who are currently the third-ranked team in the Conference.