The Golden State Warriors improved to 5-1 in this 2024-25 season with a 127-121 overtime win over the Houston Rockets, but they did it the hard way. The Warriors were up by as many as 31 points in the first half but completely crumbled in the second, which allowed the Rockets to come back and send the contest to overtime.

The Warriors seemed on course for an embarrassing loss at that point, but Jonathan Kuminga took over in the extra period to lead the team to victory. Their fans were relieved, to say the least, after the game.

“That game nearly gave me a heart attack but I’ll take the win,” one fan wrote.

“This is a big improvement from last season. Last year we lose this game. Let’s go, Warriors,” one fan took some positives from the game.

“Respect Jonathan Kuminga my GOAT,” one fan wants Kuminga to get more respect.

“Stop playing with our emotions,” one fan hilariously wrote.

“Ugliest win of the season so far don’t let that happen again,” one fan does not want to see a repeat of that second half at any point moving forward.

This was certainly an ugly win. Considering what happened last season, though, it is a big positive that they managed to come out on top. The Warriors lost a fair few games in which they had big leads in 2023-24 and avoided a repeat here despite Stephen Curry’s absence.

Kuminga was the biggest reason why, as he scored six of their eight points in overtime. The 22-year-old finished the game with 23 points, six rebounds, and one assist.

Buddy Hield also had a big night with 27 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block. He went 6-10 from beyond the arc here and is now shooting 51.7% from three on the season. It’s safe to say, that Hield has more than filled the void left by Klay Thompson’s departure.

Hield went 4-4 from three in the first half and was a big reason why the Warriors had a commanding 71-43 lead at the interval. They were cruising along but then fell apart after the break.

The Warriors shot 36.4% from the field and 27.3% from beyond the arc in the second half and allowed the Rockets to shoot 57.1% from the field and 52.6% from three. When they did manage to force a miss, they struggled to get the rebound, as the Rockets hauled in nine offensive rebounds in the second half.

Despite all those missteps, the Warriors still appeared likely to win in regulation, as they had the ball up 119-117 with 15.1 seconds remaining. Draymond Green, however, turned the ball over with a terrible inbounds pass and then fouled Tari Eason to give him a chance to tie things up.

Eason did just that and those two free throws made it 22 points in the second half for the big man. He was the biggest reason the Rockets were able to come back, but they didn’t execute well enough in the extra period. They went 1-12 from the field in overtime and have now dropped to 3-3 on the season.