Thompson: Stephen Curry saves the Warriors’ season with a huge splash.
On this night, Stephen Curry could not be stopped. Not tonight. Not at Chase Center.
Not by the Celtics from Boston, whose defense is ranked third in the league. Not by his recent streak of not shooting at all.
Not by being tired. Not by bad trouble. Not by all the doubt and chaos going around concerning the Golden State Warriors.
This past week, Stephen Curry became the first player in NBA history to make more than 3,500 3-pointers in his career. He also made a 3-pointer at the end of 268 straight games.
The Warriors beat the Brooklyn Nets 124–120 on Saturday and the Portland Trail Blazers 118–114 on Sunday to end the week.
They had lost their first two games, 119–116 to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday and 121–113 to the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.
Before Brandin Podziemski, Stephen Curry was the last rookie for the Warriors to have at least 15 points, 10 rebounds, or 5 assists in a game. On Tuesday against the Suns, Podziemski did it.
Curry did that three times during the 2009–10 season. On February 10, 2010, he scored 36 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and gave out 13 assists against the Los Angeles Clippers.
At Phoenix, Podziemski scored 18 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and passed the ball five times. He played almost 29 minutes and had a plus-18 rating. Because of this, he will start for the rest of the week.
“Curry’s back has to be hurting,” rookie guard Brandin Podziemski said out loud from his locker after the Warriors beat Boston 132-126 in overtime. Podziemski left the game with a lower back strain.
There was too much at stake. The Warriors want to get their season back on track. They’re still trying to find their balance after losing a lot of games and Draymond Green being suspended indefinitely.
To get back on track after a disappointing first trio of the season, struggling stars, changing rotations, and the harsh realities of the Western Conference, they needed greatness to inspire them.
So, Curry took over because he knew what to do. He scored 20 points and set up nine others in the last 17 minutes of Tuesday’s game, which included overtime. He finished with 33 points and 6 assists.
Moments give you speed. Curry, a master of the memorable, was in the groove and set on giving Golden State the big win they needed so badly.
In extra time, the Warriors were ahead by two points, so he cut off a screen and drove inside via Jaylen Brown on his hip.
Before making the layup, Curry faked a pump fake and got to the front of the rim. This put the Warriors atop 127-123 with 38 seconds left.
The shot they came up with on the Splash Brothers toured as the Brick Brothers is now being used against the Warriors. They will either have to get through this awkward moment or die.
They stopped the Wright Brothers from flying from San Francisco to Paris because they were worried about what they could have been hiding under those derbies. This is like Steph and Klay losing a three-point game.
Kerr said, “I didn’t think we got outstanding shots for most of the night.” “I thought we were going fast to set the pace.” Moving quickly from one end in the court to the other is good, but our shots need to be better.
“You won’t be able to shoot the ball as well if you’re not focused, if you’re taking quick shots, and if you’re not looking for great shots.”
Both of them had some good shots, but both of them also had a lot of bad ones. We were all in a hurry, which threw us off.
It was possible to hear Kerr telling his players on TV during one timeout huddle to work the ball, follow the process, drive, or kick. That is, make plays longer.
When the Warriors play their best, they pass the ball four, five, six times or more before they shoot. On top of giving you good opportunities for attacks and weak defenses, this wears down the other team.