Monta Ellis poured in 33 points and the Golden State Warriors snapped a three-game losing streak to the Houston Rockets with a 106-97 win on Sunday.
The Warriors got 15 points and 13 rebounds from David Lee and beat the Rockets for only the second time in their last 14 meetings.
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson added 14 points apiece for Golden State, which opened a three-game homestand with its fourth win in six games overall after pulling away in the fourth quarter. Thompson was 4-for-6 on three-pointers.
Kevin Martin had 28 points to lead the Rockets, who had a three-game overall winning streak snapped and fell to 3-2 on a six-game road trip.
"It just seemed to me like...we were playing in eight inches of water," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "We just couldn't get going."
The Rockets were held to a season-low 31 field goals (31-of-75), but also made a season-high 11 three-pointers (11-of-29).
They led by as many as nine points in the first quarter. Martin had 10 points in the frame and his team carried a 29-23 advantage into the second.
Warriors head coach Mark Jackson said he never worried the game was getting away from his team.
"At no point did I look out there and say we're not working hard," Jackson said. "They just played good and we made some mistakes."
The Warriors turned it around before halftime, shooting nearly 53 percent and out-scoring Houston 25-15 in the second quarter to take a 48-44 lead into the break.
Martin scored 13 of his 28 points in the third quarter and the Rockets tied the game on Courtney Lee's three-pointer inside five minutes. Golden State scored the next four, but Houston tied it once more and trailed just 76-74 entering the fourth quarter after Martin made a late three.
But the Warriors opened the final quarter on an extended 17-5 run sparked by Thompson's three-pointer. Thompson had another three later in the burst and David Lee capped it with a three-point play, making it 93-79 with 7 1/2 minutes remaining.
Houston was never closer than six the rest of the way.
"We did a great job of bouncing back," said Jackson, whose team shot better than 50 percent and went 13-of-24 on three-pointers. "I thought our guys did a great job of battling and competing."
Game Notes
