The Golden State Warriors (30 - 2) held off the Houston Rockets (16 - 18) to win 114 - 110 on Thursday night. This was a good old fashion Western Conference game with a ton of scoring and competitive play. Both teams offenses looked as efficient as ever, as they both were hovering around 50 percent from the field and over 40 percent from three - point range. No team really got a big lead in this game and it was nip - and - tuck throughout. The ball movement was the big difference for the Warriors, as they recorded 35 assists to the Rockets 21. That's no surprise with Golden State ranking first in the NBA in assists. Golden state looked like a shell of themselves in their last game without Steph Curry, but looked like the Warriors we all know and love here. The team was moving the ball around like they have been all season and playing the great team - ball they are known for. Draymond Green played distributor tonight en route to his fifth triple - double, as he dished out 16 assists to go with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Klay Thompson was great as well, as he recorded 38 points and seven rebounds. This small break without Curry may be just what this team needs to continue their historic run at that elusive 72 - win mark. The Warriors will take on the Denver Nuggets in their next game on Saturday. The Rockets played extremely well here, but fell just short against a better team. The combination of James Harden and Dwight Howard were the stars on Thursday and they need them to continue to play at this level all season. Harden tallied 30 points, five rebounds and five assists while Howard collected 21 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals. Those two playing at that type of level has been a rare sight this season and if they want to make another deep run, this form will need to carry over. Houston will have another tough task on Saturday, as they have to take on the San Antonio Spurs in a building where they haven’t lost in this season. Not to mention that that's a revenge game with the Rockets beating the Spurs on Christmas.
["PlayerStat(G,'Draymond Green') has 16 Assists ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Klay Thompson') has 38 Assists ,has 7 Blocks ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Dwight Howard') has 5 Assists ,has 3 Blocks ,has 21 Points ,has 13 Total rebounds ,has 2 Steals ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'James Harden') has 5 Assists ,has 30 Blocks ,has 5 Points ."]