Golden State Warriors Proving They've Got as Much Fight as Flash

The Golden State Warriors keep finding new ways to do the same thing: win.

In a 126-113 evisceration of the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, the Dubs built a massive early lead on the strength of dirty work. They bodied up, prodded, subtly harassed and generally frustrated the Rockets on the defensive end.

The pretty stuff came as a result. Turnovers and errant Houston shots begat breakaways and scattered transition opportunities for the Warriors. And the high-powered Dubs took full advantage.

The win gave Golden State a clean 4-0 season sweep over Houston, the first time that's happened since the 1973-74 season. In addition, the Warriors established a franchise record with their 17th consecutive home win.

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Per @EliasSports, Golden State has won its 10th straight home game by 13+ points, the longest such streak in NBA history.

— GSWStats (@gswstats) January 22, 2015"

It has been a season of milestones for the Warriors, whose 34-6 mark is tops in the league. They also now lead in net rating by a considerable margin. Their league-leading net rating comes close to doubling that of the Dallas Mavericks, who rank second, per NBA.com.

So, in some sense, this drubbing was a lot like all the others that have come before: familiar in its thoroughness.

But there was a special quality to Golden State's latest win. There was a grit to it. An edge.

It might have had something to do with this clip of James Harden in Houston's pregame huddle before the Warriors' last win over the Rockets.

It's nice to pretend players don't care about bulletin-board material, but when you're a team like the Warriors, with no real challengers in sight, sometimes you're actively looking for motivation.

They found some.

Andrew Bogut stuffed Dwight Howard at the rim four times in the opening quarter, leading a rattled D12 to earn a technical foul midway through the period. Golden State didn't let up after that, constantly digging at Howard with a second defender whenever he touched the ball.

In one second-quarter surge, the Warriors forced a flurry of turnovers with active hands and physical play. Led by Draymond Green and Bogut, Golden State seemed committed to sending a clear signal that any lingering belief it was a flashy, shoot-em-up team needed to disappear forever.

Although, to be fair, the Warriors (and Stephen Curry in particular) still found ways to keep it loose.

Curry finished with 22 points and 10 assists on just 12 shots.

Klay Thompson chipped in with a team-high 27, and Green contributed 18 of his own.

The rout was on in the second quarter, with Howard growing increasingly annoyed. He picked up an offensive foul at the end of the half for giving a little too much forearm to Andre Iguodala on a screen. By the time the halftime buzzer sounded, the Warriors had amassed a 20-point lead behind 24 points off turnovers and 21 points on the break.

Houston shot just 30.2 percent in the half.

It was more of the same in the third, and Houston's irritation boiled over in a messy exchange. Patrick Beverley, hugged up on Curry all game long, finally got the retaliation he'd been hoping for. The typically composed Curry shoved Beverley, earning a technical foul.

Unfortunately for the Rockets, Trevor Ariza gave the advantage right back, earning his own tech for delivering a running shoulder to Curry on the very next sequence. When a visibly upset Curry sprinted at Ariza to retaliate, Green beat him to the spot, scooped up his point guard and literally swung him out of the way of a potential ejection.

That showed how tied together the Warriors have been lately; even when diffusing fights, they operate collectively.

The game was effectively over midway through the third quarter when Golden State's lead reached 29 points. By then, Howard had picked up his fifth foul, ending a night he'll hope to quickly forget.

Josh Smith subsequently earned two quick technicals after turning the ball over. He too was spared the formality of the final quarter-and-a-half.

The final tally didn't reflect the degree to which the Warriors outplayed the Rockets. Curry, Thompson and Bogut all stayed glued to the bench in the fourth until Houston cut into the lead enough to worry head coach Steve Kerr. Curry, Thompson and Green came back in for the final four minutes to mop things up.

There's no statistic to convey the way the Dubs mentally overpowered Houston.

They dug in from the jump. They dictated the physical tone of the game. They played with an edge no team this skilled has a right to.

You could see it from the opening tip, and the Warriors never relinquished it until the game was decided.

After the fact, Harden had changed his tune, per Jordan Ramirez:

But don't let that admission mislead you; Golden State won't soon forget the shade Harden threw its way, as CBSSports.com's Ken Berger notes:

Going forward, there are no more questions about the Warriors. They've been the league's top defense for the bulk of the year, and after hanging 126 on Houston (which came into the contest with the No. 2 defensive rating in the NBA), they're just a hair out of the top spot in offensive rating as well.

Now, there can't even be any doubt about Golden State's killer instinct, no reservations about its willingness to fight. The Warriors are now a team as liable to run around you in circles as they are to knock you flat.

Houston found that out the hard way.

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