No Kevin Durant, no problem.
Even without the two-time Finals MVP, who missed the game with an ankle injury, the Golden State Warriors picked up a big win on the road on Wednesday, beating the Houston Rockets by a final score of 106-104.
DeMarcus Cousins stepped up in Durant's absence, scoring 27 points, grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out seven assists. The six-time All-Star was the only Warriors starter to finish the game with a positive +/-.
It was his finest all-around performance yet as a Warrior, and his teammates took notice.
"To be that big and strong, to have the ability to hit you out of the shooting pocket, it's incredible," Klay Thompson said about Cousins after the game. "The last centre I played with who was able to do that was Andrew Bogut, and he's coming back too, so it's nice."
Thompson wasn't bad himself. He scored a game-high 30 points for the Warriors, doing so on on an efficient 12-for-23 shooting from the field and 5-for-10 from 3-point range.
Thompson's second 3-pointer of the game helped him make history, as he joined Stephen Curry as the only other player to make at least 200 3-pointers in seven consecutive seasons.
Splash brothers.
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) March 14, 2019
Klay joins Steph as the ONLY players in NBA history to record seven-straight seasons with at least 200 3-point field goals made. pic.twitter.com/aYHTyWTfZE
With Cousins and Thompson leading the way, the Warriors built a double digit lead with less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The Rockets made things interesting by going on a 13-4 run to close the game — with Eric Gordon and Chris Paul doing the heavy lifting — but it ultimately wasn't enough.
James Harden scored a team-high 29 points for Houston on 10-for-23 shooting from the field and 2-for-12 from 3-point range. Chris Paul was the Rockets' second-leading scorer with 24 points on 7-for-12 shooting.
The Rockets are now 4.5 games behind the Warriors for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and 3.0 games behind the Denver Nuggets for the No. 2 seed.
They're also tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the third seed with an identical 42-26 record.
The Rockets will be back in action on Wednesday when they take on the Phoenix Suns. For the Warriors, this was the first stop on a four-game road trip, with a matchup with the Thunder coming Sunday, the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.