On Sunday night, the Golden State Warriors beat the Houston Rockets 106-95. The Dubs have won their first two away games of the season and are 2-1 overall.

Chris Paul sat on the bench for the first time in his NBA career due to the return of Draymond Green to the starting lineup for the Warriors. In his first regular-season game action since last year, Green seemed especially out of sync and slowed down a starting five that had found a groove with CP3 at the helm. Green’s inclusion in the starting lineup is crucial for the Warriors.

The Rockets only managed a six-point advantage because of the Warriors’ slow start. And against the Rockets’ extremely young bench, Paul had little chance. At one point in the game, Golden State’s second unit of Paul, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Dario ari, and Gary Payton II led a 27-8 run that gave the Warriors their highest lead of the game, 16 points.

Payton had a remarkable offensive performance, scoring 13 of his 15 points before halftime. He shot 6 for 8 overall with 3 for 4 from beyond the arc. Payton’s combined scoring efficiency and stellar defense naturally resulted to a game-high +13 plus/minus rating for him.

After taking a two-point lead from the bench, the Warriors’ starters promptly started giving it back to Houston. The Rockets did not have a standout performer. As an alternative, four of Houston’s five starters score in double figures, putting them in the lead. Point guard Fred Van Vleet was the only starting player for the Rockets who did not score in double figures. The outcome of the game would have been drastically different if Van Vleet had been able to get going from deep.

The Rockets gradually cut into the Warriors’ lead throughout the third quarter, tied the game early in the fourth, and even took the lead for a few minutes midway through the fourth. Up until that point, the game had been very quiet, but Steph Curry completely changed the tone. Four times in a row, Curry iced the game for the Dubs by draining a three-pointer. He shot 6 for 15 from the field and scored 22 points while also pulling down 5 boards and dishing out 6 assists.

Klay Thompson scored 19 points on just 12 shots from the field (5 for 10 from deep) in his second consecutive efficient game.