Andrew Wiggins buried a career-high-tying eight 3-pointers, Stephen Curry and Jordan Poole combined for 13 more and the Golden State Warriors wore down the visiting Houston Rockets from long range in a 120-101 victory in San Francisco on Saturday night.
The matchup of two teams playing the second night of a back-to-back turned into a battle of the Warriors’ perimeter prowess against the Rockets’ relentless interior presence, which Golden State won by making 25 3-pointers.
Coming off a stunning win at Phoenix the night before, the Rockets didn’t go down easily even after falling behind 23-6 to start the game. Wiggins, Curry, Poole and Draymond Green hit 3-pointers in the game-opening flurry to set the stage for things to come.
The Warriors went on to lead by as many as 25, but two Josh Christopher free throws at the 6:59 mark of the fourth period got Houston within 100-96.
However, Golden State had one more push in it, with Curry drilling three more 3-pointers and Moses Moody sinking one in a 16-2 burst that put the game away.
Wiggins finished 8-for-10 from deep, Curry 8-for-17 and Poole 5-for-8, accounting for 21 of the Warriors’ long-distance successes on a night where they made 25 of 52. Moody chipped in with a 3-for-3 effort en route to 11 points.
Wiggins led Golden State with a season-best 36 points, while Curry totaled 30 and Poole 21. Poole got the start in place of Klay Thompson, who was resting on the second night of a back-to-back, following Golden State’s 119-111 home win over the Chicago Bulls on Friday.
Curry also found time for a game-high 10 assists, while Kevon Looney had a game-high 12 rebounds to go with nine points.
With Wiggins going 14-for-19 overall, the Warriors outshot the Rockets 52.9 percent to 44.0 percent.
Kevin Porter Jr. paced the Rockets with 20 points, but missed eight of his nine 3-point attempts. The visitors went just 3-for-28 from distance and were outscored 75-9 from beyond the arc.
Tari Eason had a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double for Houston, while Jalen Green and K.J. Martin chipped in with 13 points apiece and Alperen Sengun supplied 12.
Usman Garuba tied Eason for team-high rebound honors with 10 as the Rockets outrebounded the Warriors 45-35 and outscored them 72-34 in the paint.
–Field Level Media