Top 5 Moments from Golden State Warriors' Pivotal Game 4 Win vs. Houston Rockets

The Golden State Warriors won another defensive showcase against the Houston Rockets on Monday, 109-106, behind a balanced effort from Stephen Curry's supporting cast.

Months ago, the idea of this team winning a playoff game in which Curry scored just 17 points would've sounded ludicrous. Monday, that's exactly what happened, thanks to Jimmy Butler playing through an injury for 40 minutes and scoring 27 points. Brandin Podziemski added 26. Buddy Hield had his moments, including three threes. And while there was a moment when it looked like he might get disqualified, Draymond Green's defense proved critical down the stretch.

Now, as the series shifts back to Houston with the Warriors up 3-1, let's look back on an electrifying victory through the lens of its top five moments.

This could've been a more general look at Dillon Brooks' antics. They're constant. He's an agitator. For much of Game 4—and really, much of the series—he's used his time on the floor to try to rough Warriors up, get under their skin and get into their heads.

And for the most part, Golden State's veterans haven't taken the bait.

But in the first half on Monday, Brooks chipped Curry out of a drive and down the floor. When Curry took exception, pointed to Brooks and seemingly told him to watch it, Brooks doubled down and tried to steal a dead ball.

That got Curry and Draymond riled up, led to some playoff-level tussling and a review and eventually resulted in techs for all three involved.

In most games, the moment would've seemed harmless enough, but in this series, it's another ingredient in an increasingly intense brew.

There is plenty of animosity between these teams. This scuffle was a good representation of it, and it's likely far from the last time we'll see it boil over (even if the series ends in Game 5).

As alluded to earlier, there was a moment of doubt about Draymond even being able to finish this game.

Not long after he was given the tech detailed above, he got tangled up with Tari Eason and eventually hit him with a prime Hulk Hogan leg drop.

Officials reviewed the incident, which included Green grabbing Eason's jersey after delivering the leg to the head, and gave Draymond a flagrant 1.

And the distinction there was key. Two techs would've been an ejection. A Flagrant 2 is an ejection. But one tech and one flagrant? That's fair game. And it's a good thing for Golden State, because if Green hadn't been around in crunch time, there's a good chance this series would be 2-2.

On a night when Curry went 2-of-8 from deep and was almost constantly hounded outside by the Rockets' gritty perimeter defenders, he was picked up by his teammates.

And rather than spotlight any single triple from Brandin Podziemski or Buddy Hield, we'll simply note that those two combined to shoot 9-of-20 from deep.

In a game that wound up being decided by three points, just about every individual possession was crucial. And each bucket Podziemski, Hield or even Quinten Post (who added two triples of his own) hit felt like momentum shifters (or intensifiers).

Butler and Curry are obviously the "Batman and Robin" of this team, as Butler himself has repeatedly claimed, but a legitimate run at a title will take more than them.

And Monday's game offered pretty compelling evidence that this supporting cast is up for it.

Butler finished with a team-high 27 points in the Game 4 victory. He was 12-of-12 from the free throw line and also handed out six assists.

He played 40 minutes. And on more than one occasion, he was very clearly laboring all over the floor. It was obvious that the "glute muscle contusion" he suffered in Game 2 was having an impact.

But he fought through it and scored Golden State's last seven points (and 11 of the last 14).

The final five were all pressure free throws, broken up by a clutch, contested rebound on Houston's last chance to take a lead.

For the second time in this series, "Playoff Jimmy" has shown up huge at the most important time. In Game 1, he had six points in the final two minutes. Monday, he put Houston on the brink of elimination at the line.

Again, the Warriors probably wouldn't have won on Monday if Draymond had been ejected in the first half.

In 31 minutes, Golden State's defensive anchor and point forward was a team-high plus-17 (he tied with Hield in that category).

And the reasons for that big number aren't easy to find in his others. He finished with six points on 2-of-7 shooting, eight rebounds, two assists, zero steals and zero blocks.

But his defense, particularly on Alperen Şengün, was indispensable. He was largely responsible for the Rockets center going 12-of-28 from the field.

And his one-on-one defense stonewalled Şengün on Houston's final opportunity to take the lead.

For this series, Golden State winning with defense feels perfectly appropriate. And the team's undeniable leader on that end of the floor is Green.