HOUSTON — In the hours leading up to the Golden State Warriors’ surprising 115-113 overtime win Thursday night, their absent superstar, Stephen Curry, sent their remaining big name, Draymond Green, a text message of encouragement.
“Keep going,” Green relayed of Curry’s message. “I know it’s tough, but promise you, I’m coming back.”
Jimmy Butler tore his right ACL in January and is out for the season. Kristaps Porzingis has missed six consecutive games with an illness. Curry remains out indefinitely with a persistent right knee issue.
That’s $144.4 million in player salary stuck on the sideline as the Warriors recently tumbled to a 4-8 record over a 12-game stretch, dropping them six games back of the sixth seed and a guaranteed playoff spot.
Thursday night’s road win over the heavily favored Rockets didn’t alter much about their situation. The Warriors are 32-30 and without the bulk of their firepower as a difficult stretch of schedule continues in Oklahoma City on ABC on Saturday night.
But Green called the win a needed “morale boost” at an adverse time for the franchise, drawing a second wave of communication from Curry, who sent Green another text message after watching the game from back in California.
“A bunch of exclamation marks,” Green said of Curry’s note. “Y’all did that.”
Third-year guard Brandin Podziemski was the team’s leading scorer, finishing with 26 points, including a 3-pointer and a driving dunk in overtime to generate the necessary separation.
“I thought that was Brandin’s best game of the season,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
The Warriors, without three other injured rotation players, used three two-way players (LJ Cryer, Nate Williams and Malevy Leons) for big minutes off the bench. De’Anthony Melton had 23 points and sealed it with a floater.
But much of the postgame credit in the locker room went to the interior defense from Green and Al Horford. Green was assigned Kevin Durant and Horford guarded Alperen Sengun in crunch time, and the veteran frontcourt duo brought the Warriors home.
“Vintage Draymond,” Kerr said. “The defense, the leadership, the force, the passing.”
Durant was unable to shake Green to get the basketball on several key possessions, and Horford stood his ground against Sengun, who missed three of his four overtime shots.
“I am happy that we were able to show we can play together and be efficient down the stretch,” Horford said.
Both Kerr and Green acknowledged that the win had a nostalgic flair to it because of where it took place. In their rich playoff history, they’ve closed out three series (2018, 2019, 2025) in Houston.
“This is a good building for us,” Kerr said, saying it felt like a playoff win. “A lot of good memories in that locker room.”
Though Curry wasn’t there to celebrate in person with the Warriors, he made his digital presence felt as he tries to rehab his knee injury in enough time to drag the team back into relevance this season.
“My confidence level is high, ultimately, because I know [Curry]’s going to put in all the work and do everything he can to get back,” Green said. “If his body allows him to get back, I know he will come back. He’s not wanting to just shut it down. For us, just got to stay afloat. Nobody’s expecting us to go on a 10-game win streak, but you just got to stay afloat. Tonight’s a big step towards that.”
