HOUSTON -- The Golden State Warriors closed out the Houston Rockets 113-106 on Tuesday after giving up a large early lead. In the end, the Warriors' defense and execution proved good enough to triumph in spite of some mistakes and bizarre calls. After a night interrupted by foul trouble, it was Steph Curry (32 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists) who served as executioner, conjuring difficult shots out of the ether.

This one should have been easy. Golden State's defensive energy initially overwhelmed the Rockets as Klay Thompson (25 points, 10-of-20 shooting) pelleted them from deep. As the offense flowed freely, Andre Iguodala was leading bench celebrations, staring down the crowd while throwing up the 3-point sign. In short order, the Warriors had nearly secured a blowout before Iguodala even checked in midway through the first quarter. When Iguodala joined the action, Golden State really started pouring it on, ramping up to a 22-point lead in the second quarter.

And yet, some unforced errors kept this one in range. Curry delivered a few overly ambitious passes, the kind that are as likely to result in a turnover as they are a highlight. On Tuesday, they were turnovers. When Draymond Green is making his 3s, Golden State is unbeatable. But in this game, he shot a few quickly and inaccurately; Green, who had an otherwise brilliant game, was 1-of-6 from deep.

There were also, of course, the many fouls -- 29 to be exact.

"We did a great job on the 3-point shooting," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of his team's defense. "What kept them in the game was, obviously, the fouls. We fouled three 3-point shooters, and we made numerous silly fouls that really hurt us and kept them in the game. All in all, it was a great defensive effort. We just have to keep the fouls down."

The Rockets nudged their way back as James Harden found his rhythm in the pick-and-roll. After Houston reeled off a 25-11 run, Curry picked up his third foul in a scramble for the ball with Patrick Beverley with only 27.5 seconds remaining in the half.

What became difficult only got harder when Green tumbled to the floor early in the third quarter with a left leg injury.

"[Clint] Capela caught the inside of my leg, and force meets force," Green said of the play. "First thing that rolled was the ankle."

Green sauntered to the locker room under his own power, but what should have been a blowout had now taken a turn into possibly treacherous territory.

Meanwhile, Zaza Pachulia, who can be stout in pick-and-roll defense, was having no luck as the bouncy Capela kept sneaking behind him. The Warriors managed to stem that tide a bit with an injection of JaVale McGee into the game. McGee, who began the evening completing his dap routine on the bench during the game's first two plays, returned those good vibes in the third quarter, in which he was plus-7 in his seven minutes.

That stretch held the Rockets at bay, and Green returned, salving the Warriors' concerns. As Golden State felt thankful for Green's presence, Curry's absence started after he picked up a fifth foul at the 8:21 mark of the fourth quarter, one of a few that Beverley drew.

Perhaps Curry's foul-induced rest helped. When he returned, he was aces, scoring seven points in the last 4:30. At the 1:46 mark, he stared down Capela during a busted possession and calmly swished a 3 from 26 feet out. Then, with 44 seconds remaining, Curry staggered under Capela's chase, only to launch a one-legged, Dirk Nowitzki-style midrange shot that again swished.

Curry's close will show up as highlights in this one, but it was yet another game in which the Golden State defense impressed. While the Warriors did indeed foul frequently, they also patiently ran Houston off the 3-point line. It wasn't a simple matter of just running, though. Golden State didn't flail or fly with its closeouts, and it didn't over-help when Houston drove. The Warriors simply, calmly stuck to the kind of game plan that forced Harden into shooting 5-of-20 and limited the Rockets to five 3-point baskets, tying a season low.

This was like many Warriors-Rockets battles, a matchup that has tilted Golden State's way over the years. While the Rockets are good in their own right, they have few comparative advantages. The Warriors and Rockets share many of the same qualities, only the Warriors tend to do them better and are backed by better defense.