SAN FRANCISCO — Draymond Green couldn’t help but raise his hands to the sky and shimmy in celebration. He found his lob partner.
In one motion, an airborne Gary Payton II secured Green’s line drive pass and slammed it home as the dagger Golden State had been seeking all evening to pull away from the one-win Rockets for their fourth straight blowout victory, 120-107.
The latest highlight on the reel of Golden State’s newfound alley-ooper gave the Warriors their 11th and 12th points on a 15-0 run at the end of the third quarter that broke the game open for good.
Houston was able to hang close into the third quarter as the sharp sounds of officials’ whistles pervaded Chase Center.
By the midway point of the third quarter, the Rockets had already attempted and made more free throws than any Warriors opponent this season. They finished with 37 attempts from the foul line but sank them at only a 67.6% clip (25-37).
Jordan Poole was whistled for five personal fouls, while Green and Nemanja Bjelica were also called for four each as the Warriors racked up a season-high 27 whistles.
Poole also made it to the stripe a season-high nine times — and sank them all — a game after being chastised by Andre Iguodala for his “Klay stat lines” (full of points but devoid of much else). With 25 points, the third-year guard led the Warriors in scoring for the third straight game but also contributed four rebounds and five assists.
Green dished out a season-high nine assists to lead the Warriors while collecting eight rebounds (his sixth straight game with at least eight boards). Curry, who came out for extra stretches of rest, finished second to Poole with 20 points.
Otto Porter Jr.’s 15 points were fourth on the team, behind Andrew Wiggins’ 16, and, for a moment at the end of the first half, the ninth-year wing took over the game.
He stepped back for one 3, grabbed a rebound on the other end, raced back and sank another from distance, then forced a steal and pulled up for his third triple in a span of 40 seconds, drawing a reaction from the bench rivaled only by Payton’s emphatic slam.
