Watch: Warriors lose Draymond, game in 4th quarter vs Rockets

It's only 1 game. Next time, #DubNation pic.twitter.com/EwTRegnoYg

— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) October 18, 2017

The Houston Rockets defeated the Golden State Warriors 122-121 in Chris Paul's debut with his new team.

Warriors dropped their season-opener to the Rockets on Tuesday despite leading by 13 points at the end of three quarters. Golden State became the fifth team in the shot-clock era to lose their first game of a season after leading by at least 13 points entering the fourth quarter.

Golden State Warriors Statistics

Warriors shot great 53.8% and had a good Ast-TO ratio (34-17), but were outrebounded 41-43.  Dubs also committed 17 turnovers while the Rockets only gave up 12 TO.  In a 1-point loss, rebounds and steals (read defense) are huge.  Draymond Green would've made the difference in the 4th. But even without Draymond and even if the Ws are out of shape per Coach Kerr, the game was ours.  Chalk it up as good motivation going forward.
Klay Thompson led the the Warriors in minutes played with 38:10. He started out hot, but finished 6-14, 16 pts on 43% shooting.  He was 4-7 on 3PA. As expected, Klay showed up on the other side with 2 steals, 2 blocks and 6 rebounds.  He added 3 assists with only 1 turnover.
Kevin Durant started out only had 20 pts on 7-15 in 37:38 MP.  KD shot 40% in 3PA, but he had more turnovers than assists 8-7.  KD almost came out the hero with the made FG at the end, but it was a tick too late to count.
Stephen Curry took the most shots on the Warriors, 18, but shot only 44.4% from the field, 3-9 3PA. Coach Kerr cited the Warriors' conditioning and Steph did not play his usual 30+ minutes, logging only 29:33.  Steph added 5 reb, 4 ast and 1 stl.
Draymond Green stood out in the game, missing a triple double by 1 pt; he scored 9pts.  Dray led the team with 13 assists and 11 rebounds.  Thirteen assists to only two turnovers!  But what stood out more than his stellar play was his lack of presence in the fourth quarter as he left the game after three quarters with a knee sprain.  In his abscence, the Rockets outscored the Warriors 34-20.
Nick Young logged the most minutes off the bench with 26:10 MP, the fifth most on the team.  He was expected to provide offensive spark, but his 23 pts (20 in the first half) on 8-9 FGA (6-7 3PA) might have surpassed expectations in the season opener.
Bench: Patrick McCaw and Shaun Livingston both provided 18+ minutes.  Jordan Bell was the first big man off the bench, logging more minutes than David West and Kevon Looney. Omri Casspi had a cameo, while Coach Kerr did not utilize Javale McGee against the Rockets.

Houston Rockets Statistics