Houston Rockets vs. Game Preview Golden State Warriors: kickoff time, how to watch, online, television, injuries, lineup

February 20, 2020.

It has been 1,750 days since the Houston Rockets last defeated Golden State Warriors. That’s a 14-game losing streak, most of which coincide with Houston’s tank. That game took place before most people had even heard of the coronavirus. So yeah, the Rockets haven’t beaten the Warriors since before the pandemic.

Oh, and that game on 2/20/2020? Yes, Stephen Curry didn’t play in it. To find a game that Houston won against a Warriors team with Curry, you have to go back another year, all the way to February 23, 2019. That’s 2,112 days ago. I’ll stop now.

The point is, Houston hopes to slay two dragons tonight: the cursed three-game road trip in California and the Warriors. A win tonight in San Francisco would go a long way toward some catharsis for long-suffering Rockets fans.

It’s worth mentioning that both teams lost tough games on Tuesday night. The Rockets were outgunned by a Kings team that wouldn’t miss and an officiating staff trying to atone for screwing over Sacramento in the 2002 Western Conference Finals. The Warriors had an 11-point lead with six minutes left against the Denver Nuggets. It was their fifth straight loss and cost them a home game in the quarterfinal round of the NBA Cup.

Which reminds me: these teams meet again on Wednesday in NBA Cup action, with the winner advancing to Las Vegas to face the winner of Dallas and Oklahoma City. Thanks to NBA Cup quirks, that means Houston and Golden State will play each other five times this season (three in Houston, two in San Francisco). It also means that whoever Houston plays after Golden State in the Cup window (OKC or Dallas either on the road or in Vegas) will also constitute a fifth meeting. With Houston’s poor West Coast luck and inability to beat the Warriors, the disaster scenario of five straight losses looms large.

We’re in the Playback Room tonight, so you should come and join us to watch the Rockets and talk about the game. Remember, we get a handful of VIP passes that we give out to everyone who wants to watch the game. No League Pass required!

Tip off

9 p.m. CT

That’s how you see

Space City Home Network, NBA TV and Playback TV

Damage report

Rockets

Jalen Green: GTD (because Jae Crowder tore his eyes in a plain, plain foul)

Fred VanVleet: GTD

Tari Eason: OUT

Warriors

Draymond Green: OUT

Steph Curry: OUT

Andrew Wiggins: GTD

The Line (from this post)

Hou -3

Check here for updates

We look forward because we can

Sunday night in Los Angeles against the Clippers