HOUSTON (AP) 鈥� Steph Curry and Klay Thompson scored 29 points each and the Golden State Warriors stretched their winning streak to a season-high six games with a 133-110 win over the Houston Rockets on Thursday night.
鈥淲e know we can score against most teams but defense has been our calling card,鈥� Curry said.
The Warriors, who are in 10th place in the Western Conference, never trailed and built a 15-point lead by halftime behind 21 points by Thompson. He made seven 3-pointers with five of them coming in the first half.
鈥淢an, he was smoking and that was fun to watch,鈥� coach Steve Kerr said. 鈥淗e was feeling it right from the beginning.鈥�
Kerr said he's not focused on the standings, but rather how they can build on this momentum.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not thinking about any of that, we鈥檙e just trying to win,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e on a nice run right now and we鈥檙e playing good basketball. So we鈥檙e going to do that for the next six games and see where we land.鈥�
They improved to 3-0 against Houston this season and have won the last 13 regular-season games against the Rockets.
鈥淲e know what鈥檚 at stake and we know how important these last games are,鈥� Thompson said. 鈥淪o I thought we played with the sense of urgency we needed to get it done.鈥�
Jabari Smith Jr. had 24 points to lead the Rockets, who dropped their third game in a row after winning their previous 11 games. Rookie Cam Whitmore added 17 points off the bench.
鈥淵ou have to up your level against higher quality, high IQ teams,鈥� coach Ime Udoka said. 鈥淟ack of communication has been one thing, but when you see that many slips to the basket and two men on one ball, it's a lack of communication or a lack of recognition of who you're guarding.鈥�
The Warriors moved to 42-34 with the win to give them a winning season for the 38th time in franchise history and the fourth in a row.
Golden State was up by 16 after three and had pushed the lead to 20 when Kerr cleared the bench with about four minutes remaining.
Rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis scored a career-high 20 points for the Warriors with five rebounds and four assists in his 10th start this season.
鈥淭rayce, for a rookie, it鈥檚 amazing what he鈥檚 doing,鈥� Kerr said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 gaining a lot more confidence with the extra playing time here in the second half of the season.鈥�
The Warriors were without Jonathan Kuminga for a fifth straight game because of a knee injury. But Kerr said he was doing better and should return Friday night.
Andrew Wiggins injured his ankle in the fourth quarter and didn't return, but Kerr said the injury wasn't serious.
Houston鈥檚 Alperen Sengun, who has been out since severely spraining his right ankle March 10, spoke to reporters for the first time since his injury Thursday. He said he鈥檚 doing much better, but that he鈥檚 only at about 60%, making it unlikely that he鈥檒l return this season.
UP NEXT
Warriors: Visit Dallas Friday night.
Rockets: Host Miami Friday night.
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AP NBA:
Kristie Rieken, The Associated Press
