Stephen Curry’s individual brilliance has frequently led the Golden State Warriors to incredible heights; however, even Curry has limitations this season, when the Warriors have struggled to win on the road.
Curry struggled in the Warriors’ 133-119 road loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, following a seven-game slump following a four-week injury hiatus. While scoring 16 points, grabbing eight rebounds, and dishing out five assists, he missed 10 of 15 shots, preventing the Warriors (36-36) from suffering their 11th consecutive defeat on the road. Overall, Golden State dropped to 7-29 on the road.
Monday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets, against whom the Warriors are 3-0 this season with an average margin of victory of 13.7 points while scoring 121 points per game, will be the Warriors’ first road win of their current five-game road trip. The Warriors are 0-7 on the road since the All-Star break.
In his first seven games back from a leg injury, Curry averaged 33.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.3 assists. He shot 53.5 percent from the field. However, fatigue set in for the Warriors, even for the seemingly invincible Curry, as they played for the third time in four days and in the second game of a back-to-back.
Curry denied that fatigue contributed to his poor shooting.
The Champions’ season-long street troubles have spun out of control, in any event, when Curry has been performing especially. He scored 50 points, including eight 3-pointers, to kick off the road trip. That game, which the Warriors lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 134-126, demonstrated that their issues go far beyond Curry.
The Rockets (18-53) will face the challenge of finding the motivation to perform well in the second game of a back-to-back after their defeat to the New Orleans Pelicans, 117-107, on Sunday at home.
The Rockets’ starting backcourt of Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. scored 65 points apiece in an eight-game stretch that included five victories, with only one additional player scoring in the double digits—Tari Eason, who scored 10 points.
The remaining Rockets combined to shoot just 13 of 39 for 42 points, despite Green scoring 40 points for the fourth time this season and Porter scoring 25 points on 7-of-15 shooting.
