{"id":701943,"date":"2026-04-06T19:54:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T19:54:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/701943\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T19:54:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T19:54:40","slug":"stephen-curry-shines-in-return-despite-117-116-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/701943\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen Curry shines in return despite 117-116 loss"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Golden State Warriors<\/a> narrowly lost 117-116 to the Houston Rockets, but the result took a backseat to the electrifying return of Stephen Curry<\/a>. <\/p>\n

After missing 27 games, Curry scored 29 points in just 26 minutes, hitting five three-pointers and immediately reestablishing himself as one of the league\u2019s top players. <\/p>\n

Any worries about rust disappeared quickly\u2014once Curry saw the ball go through the net, the greatest showman this game has ever seen was back.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Curry\u2019s insane gravity was on full display<\/p>\n

\"NBA:Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Analytically, Curry\u2019s influence went beyond just scoring. The Warriors\u2019 offensive rating increased when he was on the floor, thanks to better spacing and faster decision-making. <\/p>\n

His off-ball movement forced Houston into constant defensive rotations, creating opportunities that Golden State had struggled to generate in his absence. Even in limited minutes, Curry shaped the game\u2019s flow and kept the Warriors within striking distance throughout.<\/p>\n

Sengun had his way with Porzingis <\/p>\n

\"NBA:Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Regrettably, the Warriors\u2019 interior defense proved to be their biggest weakness. Alperen Sengun<\/a> outplayed Kristaps Porzingis, using positioning and strength to control the paint. <\/p>\n

Sengun\u2019s ability to score efficiently and facilitate from the post repeatedly broke down Golden State\u2019s defense, leading to high-percentage shots and easy backdoor cuts to Amen Thompson multiple times. The Rockets exploited this advantage, culminating in the game-winning sequence.<\/p>\n

Curry played at an MVP level despite the loss <\/p>\n

\"NBA:Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

From a larger perspective, this game clarified Golden State\u2019s postseason outlook. While the loss probably locks them into the play-in tournament, Curry\u2019s form significantly boosts their ceiling. As long as he maintains this level, the Warriors become a far more dangerous opponent, regardless of seeding. <\/p>\n

However, their defensive vulnerabilities\u2014especially against skilled inside scorers\u2014remain a major concern. Ultimately, with Curry playing at an MVP level<\/a>, no opponent can overlook them. Yet, when facing a dominant front line, the Warriors are currently too thin to contend against Sengun, Jokic, or Wembanyama.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\"avatar\"<\/p>\n

\t\tDavin McFarland is a native of Memphis Tennessee. Following attending University of Memphis he moved himself to Brooklyn New … More about Davin McFarland<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Golden State Warriors narrowly lost 117-116 to the Houston Rockets, but the result took a backseat to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":701944,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3794],"tags":[7,292,194,4066,6,211],"class_list":{"0":"post-701943","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston-rockets","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-houston","10":"tag-houston-rockets","11":"tag-houstonrockets","12":"tag-nba","13":"tag-rockets"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116359520651368683","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=701943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701943\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/701944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=701943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=701943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=701943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}