With their 2024-25 campaign on the line, the Houston Rockets absolutely annihilated the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, 131-116. Extended garbage time made the final score look a lot closer than the contest actually was.

The Rockets have a must-win game Wednesday to avoid elimination at the hands of the Warriors, who lead 3-1 in the first-round playoff series.

At halftime, the Warriors found themselves trailing 76-49. Houston was led by a remarkably efficient 4-5 from deep first half from Fred VanVleet, who led all scorers with 19 first-half points. However, the story of the Warriors' halftime deficit is not thanks to just VanVleet's excellent play.