Rockets and Warriors roll on to remain top 2 in the West

LOS ANGELES, USA – The Golden State Warriors shrugged off the absence of Stephen Curry to edge past the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, December 10.

The injured Curry and Draymond Green were both missing from the Warriors line-up in Oakland but Kevin Durant stepped up with 28 points as the NBA champions claimed a 111-104 win at the Oracle Arena.

Klay Thompson also tallied 24 points for the Warriors, who remain second in the Western Conference standings with a 22-6 record behind first place Houston.

The Warriors recorded their 7th straight victory after overcoming a virtuoso performance from Portland’s Damian Lillard, who finished with 39 points.

The Rockets head the standings in the Western Conference after vanquishing the New Orleans Pelicans 130-123 at the Toyota Center.

The Rockets had a late scoring spree from guards James Harden and Chris Paul to thank for the win, which saw them overturn a 13-point third quarter deficit to claim a 10th straight victory.

It was a close one but the Force was with us.#RunAsOne  pic.twitter.com/5VmOh4gPVM

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) December 12, 2017

Harden scored 26 points – 12 of them in the fourth quarter – while also notching a career-high 17 assists.

Paul also left his scoring late, with 16 of 20 points in the fourth.

Harden later revealed he had urged Paul to raise the tempo in the fourth quarter.

“I told him to be aggressive. He was passive throughout the entire game,” Harden said of Paul. 

“I told him, ‘Be aggressive, take your shots.’ He made some big threes, got to the basket a couple times, and gave us some momentum offensively. And then defensively we got stops.”

New Orleans were without talisman Anthony Davis, struggling with a left adductor strain. Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry was left impressed by Houston.

“You can see why they have the best record in the league,” Gentry said of the Rockets. “I thought we did everything we had to do to try and put ourselves in a position to try to win it.”

Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors missed the chance to close the gap on Boston in the Eastern Conference after being pipped 96-91 by the Clippers in Los Angeles. – Rappler.com