Warriors suffer blowout loss to Houston in Game 5 no-show

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HOUSTON — At some point during the 15-minute halftime break on Wednesday night, Warriors coach Steve Kerr approached Draymond Green with a question: How long should they try to hunt down a comeback win in the second half?

“Five minutes,” both Green and Kerr settled.

So Kerr sent his starters back out there to open the third quarter, down by 27. Dillon Brooks hit a fadeaway to bump it to 29. Alperen Şengün crushed a put-back dunk to bump it to 31.

The veteran Warriors sprinkled in a few response buckets over the next couple of minutes, but — without the requisite urgency or focus to make any type of run against a desperate Rockets team — Kerr called a timeout at the 5:51 mark after a Fred VanVleet layup put the Rockets lead at 29. Kerr emptied his bench and officially pulled the plug.

“I wasn’t going to chase this game with Game 6 coming up in 48 hours,” Kerr said. “Unless we made a huge run, we kind of had an idea that we’d pull the plug.”

The Rockets won 131-116, a final score that doesn’t reflect Houston’s dominance in the competitive portion of the game. The Warriors’ third-stringers came out with some juice and sliced the Rockets’ lead down to 13, forcing coach Ime Udoka to put his starters back into the game. Steph Curry, having already unwrapped his thumb splint and taken off his ankle braces, asked for them back from the training staff in case Kerr wanted to go back to him. Kerr never thought about it.

“Can’t do that,” Kerr said. “When you make a move like that, the starters on the bench, you can’t go back to them. It’s not the right thing to do.”

There were early signs of an impending blowout loss for the Warriors. The Rockets, pressuring to half court defensively and forcing action downhill on the other end, were in the bonus before the first quarter was halfway done. The Warriors committed five fouls in the first five minutes.

“I didn’t have them ready to play,” Kerr said. “They were 13-for-13 from the line after the first quarter. You can’t come out with that lack of defensive focus and urgency and expect to beat a great team on their home floor in a closeout game.”

Houston was abnormally hot. In the first half, they made 69 percent of their shots, 60 percent of their 3s and 85 percent of their free throws. They scored 40 points in the first quarter after being held below 30 points in 14 of the first 16 quarters in the series. The Warriors had turned around their season and took a 3-1 control in this series through stingy defense. The Rockets steamrolled that defense on Wednesday night.

“I think at halftime, their effective field goal percentage was 95 percent,” Kerr said. “I’ve never seen that in my life. You’re not winning that game.”

Because of the lopsided nature of the loss and Kerr’s decision to back out early, Jimmy Butler only played 25 minutes, Curry 33 and Green 18. Tipoff was two hours earlier than the first two road games in this series and the team zipped through their postgame responsibilities and zoomed to the plane, getting back to the Bay Area as quickly as possible to rest up for what sets up as a massive Game 6.

Butler was quiet in his court time, taking and missing three 3s in the first quarter and not attacking the rim until later. He made only two of his 10 shots. But Butler was moving without as much of a hitch and said postgame his ailing glute was feeling better.

Curry, meanwhile, downplayed his thumb issue despite a picture emerging during the off-day that revealed how swollen it has been. Curry has had it wrapped during games and under an ice bag after games. Curry finished with 13 points on 12 shots and committed three turnovers. He said it has not been impacting his play.

“I don’t even know how to answer it,” Curry said. “Something you are dealing with and keep it moving.”

Steph Curry has his right thumb wrapped in-game and is icing it every postgame. Photo surfaced of it swollen while walking to team plane. What is the state of it?

“I don’t even know how to answer it. Something you are dealing with and keep it moving.”

Full soundbite https://t.co/ZNbfhuoZ0w pic.twitter.com/5j53ufKDWY

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 1, 2025

Some of the postgame chatter shifted toward Houston’s aggressive closeouts on Curry in this series. Warriors people have been noting that Brooks purposefully hits Curry’s hand, arm, and sometimes thumb after he releases his jumper. Kerr noted that it’s technically legal because the league allows high-five contact.

“On every release, Steph is getting hit,” Kerr said. “But it’s basically within the rules. It’s how the league wants it right now. I know we have 30 coaches who all think it’s just idiotic that we allow this. We’ll have to take it through the competition committee this summer. Eventually, we’ll get it fixed.”

Steve Kerr asked about Steph Curry taking contact after his 3s and goes in-depth on the high-five rule he thinks should change: “On every release, Steph is getting hit. But it’s basically within the rules. It’s how the league wants it right now.” pic.twitter.com/0Fbgem4jap

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 1, 2025

Dillon Brooks on accusations that he’s intentionally attacking Steph Curry’s injured thumb.

“If I had an injured ankle, I would attack that ankle every single time. So, whatever they’re saying on the broadcast, they can keep saying it.” pic.twitter.com/ESLC8Dpydm

— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) May 1, 2025

Across the bracket, the Timberwolves finished off the Lakers in five games on Wednesday night, giving them an extra amount of rest and preparation entering the second round. If the Warriors close the series out in six games on Friday night, they’d open in Minnesota for Game 1 on Monday night. If the Warriors and Rockets go to a seventh game in Houston on Sunday, the second round against the Timberwolves would open on Tuesday.

Friday night’s Game 6 in San Francisco tips at 6 p.m. local since it is the only NBA game that night.

“We’re fine,” Butler said. “Our confidence isn’t going to waver. We’re going to start out better and play a better overall game.”

(Photo of Alperen Şengün and Steph Curry: Thomas Shea / Imagn Images)

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