NBA Rumors: Warriors Were 'Bit Disappointed' Rockets' James Harden Couldn't Play

Before the Golden State Warriors lost to the Houston Rockets for the third time this season on Saturday, they were hoping to get a shot at playing against James Harden.

Per The Athletic's Anthony Slater, there was a "bit of disappointment" from the Warriors that Harden was unable to play because they wanted to see how DeMarcus Cousins would respond to defending the reigning NBA MVP. 

The Rockets announced prior to tip-off that Harden was unable to play due to a cervical strain. They overcame his absence to earn a 118-112 win over the defending NBA champions. 

While the Warriors were concerned about Harden before the game, they failed to account for the rest of the Rockets after tip-off.

Four of Houston's five starters scored at least 18 points. Kenneth Faried, P.J. Tucker and Chris Paul all posted double-doubles in the win.

The Rockets have found the formula to beat Golden State over the past two seasons. They have won five of their six regular-season matchups since the start of the 2017-18 campaign.

The Warriors did get revenge last year in the Western Conference Finals by defeating Houston in seven games en route to winning their second straight NBA championship.

They will have one more chance to end their four-game regular season losing streak to the Rockets when the two teams play on March 13 at the Toyota Center.