For eight straight games, the Golden State Warriors looked like a team that had rediscovered something. On Wednesday night in Houston, that run came to a halt, and the bigger story was not the final score. It was the sight of Stephen Curry heading to the locker room in the first quarter and never coming back.
Curry left with right abdominal soreness after scoring just three points, and the Houston Rockets took full advantage, beating the Warriors 115-108 to snap Golden State’s longest winning streak since 2022. Houston improved to 9-3. Golden State fell to 8-4.
A Game Built Around an Absence
The Rockets set the tone early, building a 35-20 lead after the first quarter. Kevin Durant led Houston with 20 points, while Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson added 19 apiece. It was a balanced, physical performance from a roster that has quietly become one of the West’s most complete.
Golden State, an offense averaging 120.4 points per game entering the night, never found its usual rhythm without its centerpiece. Curry came in ranked second in the NBA in scoring at 30.6 points per game, and his absence turned every possession into a grind.
Still, the Warriors refused to fold. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg delivered the kind of performance that changes a young player’s standing in a locker room, posting 25 points and 10 rebounds. Brandin Podziemski added 22. Three-pointers from Georges Niang and De’Anthony Melton trimmed Houston’s lead to 88-85 with roughly 10 minutes left.
That was as close as it got. Houston answered with eight straight points, highlighted by a Thompson alley-oop and back-to-back threes from Reed Sheppard. When the Warriors cut it to five, Sheppard and Fred VanVleet hit consecutive threes to push the margin to 102-91 midway through the fourth.
Tempers Flared, Too
The night also had an edge. Houston’s Marcus Smart was ejected late in the third quarter after throwing a punch at Golden State’s Charles Bassey. Smart walked straight to the locker room before officials finished reviewing the play, which was ruled a Flagrant 2 foul.
Why This One Matters
Streaks end. That part is normal. What makes this loss worth watching is what it exposed. With Curry on the floor, Golden State has looked like a contender. Without him, the Warriors were competitive but outgunned, leaning on a rookie and secondary scorers to carry an offense built around one of the greatest shooters ever.
The encouraging sign is Lendeborg. A 25-and-10 night under pressure, against a team as long and athletic as Houston, suggests Golden State may have found a real contributor rather than a temporary fill-in. The concern is obvious. Any lingering issue for Curry changes the math for a team whose ceiling depends on him.
For Houston, this was a statement. Beating a hot Warriors team, even a shorthanded one, reinforces that the Rockets belong in the early conversation at the top of the Western Conference.
What Comes Next
The schedule does Golden State no favors. The Warriors visit San Antonio on Friday as they continue a five-game road trip, facing a Spurs team riding a 10-game winning streak. Houston hosts Utah the same night.
All eyes now turn to Curry’s status. One night without him cost the Warriors their streak. The bigger question is how long they might have to manage without him.
