What We Learned As Warriors' Streak Snaps After Steph Curry Injury Vs. Rockets

What we learned as Warriors' streak snaps after Steph Curry injury vs. Rockets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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The Warriors rolled into Houston with newfound comfort in their offense without Stephen Curry. It has been problematic for years, but three weeks into the 2026-27 NBA season, the bench was meeting the challenge.

On a night when Golden State needed its reserves to be excellent to extend its win streak to nine games, they were merely valiant in a 115-108 loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday at Toyota Center.

Curry left the game for good midway through the first quarter with soreness in his right abdomen, taking the heart of the offense with him. Yaxel Lendeborg finished with a game-high 25 points, with Brandin Podziemski scoring 22 and De’Anthony Melton tossing in 11.

The Warriors (8-4) stayed close, pulling within five (96-91) with 7:10 remaining before Houston (9-3) went on a 15-2 run that put Golden State to sleep.

Here are three observations from Golden State’s initial game of a daunting road trip that now appears even more treacherous:

The Most Painful of Blows

Three weeks into his 18th NBA season, Curry was performing the peak of his powers, easing lingering concerns about his health.

Then, with 6:25 remaining in the first quarter, came the sight of him grabbing at his right side and going into the locker room. The Warriors a few minutes later announced that Curry was diagnosed with right abdominal soreness and would not return.

Curry fell to the floor several times in the opening minutes, once coming up wincing, and it quickly became apparent that he was in discomfort. He labored through his only production, a triple with 7:22 left in the quarter, but the Warriors were trailing by nine (19-10) when he departed.

Curry came into the game averaging 30.6 points per game (third in the NBA) on efficiency that rivals his 2015-16 unanimous MVP season.

It’s too soon to know Curry’s status for the remainder on the road trip, with four more games, three of which come against opponents with winning records.

He’s No Ordinary Rookie

One of the most impressive things about Lendeborg has been his ability to sense what the Warriors need and immediately focus on it. With Curry out, they needed many things, none more than proof of life for their offense.

In the 19 first-half minutes that remained once Curry left the floor, Golden State outscored the Rockets 41-37 – mostly behind Lendeborg.

Golden State’s first field goal after Curry left was a step-back 3-ball by Lendeborg, and the next was a Lendeborg layup. He was even more aggressive in the second quarter, scoring 13 points. His 18 points in the first half topped both teams.

His 25 points came on 9-of-19 shooting from the field, including 2 of 7 from distance. He added 10 rebounds and two steals. 

During unsuccessful moments, and there were several, his frustration was visible. But it didn’t matter who he faced down – it was future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant on several occasions – Lendeborg brought fire without hesitation.

Gritty, Resilient and, Ultimately, . . .

Curry’s departure extended the Warriors’ injury list to six. Kristaps Porziņģis is not with the team. Jimmy Butler III, Moses Moody, Gary Payton II and Brandon Williams were ruled out before the game.

Any chance of staying close, much less winning, would require strong performances from a few folks, including several bench players, not named Lendeborg.

Well, the effort was there, but the execution was not.

Al Horford, making his first start of the season, missed six of his seven shots. Gui Santos committed four turnovers in 12 scoreless minutes. Georges Niang shot 1 of 7 in 19 minutes off the bench, and Charles Bassey was relatively quiet aside from a brief skirmish that resulted in Marcus Smart being ejected.

Golden State’s bench finished with 49 points, but managed only 34 on 10-of-30 shooting from the field before heating up during the final, irrelevant three-plus minutes.

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