Curry torches Wizards as peaking Warriors extend winning streak to 11 games
Curry scored 42 in the Warriors' 139-115 victory, and he got plenty of help
OAKLAND, Calif. -- âIt doesnât make any sense.â
Those words of disbelief came from a fan positioned somewhere below me at Oracle Arena three or so minutes into the Warriorsâ 139-115 victory against the Wizards on Sunday night. He was talking about a sequence that included a wild shot by Warriors rookie Patrick McCaw, a deflection, McCaw rescuing the ball before it went out of play, Draymond Green saving McCawâs pass before it passed the halfcourt line by finding an open Stephen Curry in midair, and Curry drilling the 3 to put an end to the chaos.
Skip ahead to the the nine-second mark in the video below to see for yourself:
.@StephenCurry30 is ð in on @NBCSAuthentic. pic.twitter.com/IdyEZMk4oe
— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) April 3, 2017
It was that kind of night for the Warriors.
They won their 11th game in a row. After beating the Grizzlies, Rockets, Spurs, and Rockets (again) by a combined 40 points, the Warriors dismantled the Wizards. In five consecutive games against playoff teams, the Warriors posted an average margin of victory of 12.8 points -- without Kevin Durant, of course.
Remember when the Warriors were an ordinary team without Durant? So much for that.
The Warriors are playing the best basketball across the league. In their 10 consecutive victories before Sunday night, they posted an NBA-best 96.1 defensive rating. On Sunday, their defense didnât take center stage. It was their explosive offense. Golden State shot 56.4 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from deep.
In recent victories, they relied on unsung heroes -- JaVale McGee and Andre Iguodala to name two -- to pull through. But Sunday night was about the stars. More specifically, it was about Curry.
Curry put up 42 points in roughly 36 minutes. He connected on 9 of 14 shots from 3-point land. He was video-game Curry.
A minute after that crazy sequence above, he did something mean to Wizards center Marcin Gortat.
Gortat never had a chance..... pic.twitter.com/1CucoI1V3N
— NBCS Warriors News (@NBCSWarriors) April 3, 2017
Late in the first quarter, Curry threw a behind-the-back pass to Green in transition, which led to a layup.
Dimes! (@NBCSAuthentic) pic.twitter.com/6AjUfnGK6x
— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) April 3, 2017
After the Wizards got themselves back within striking distance, Curry exploded for 10 points in a 62-second stretch just before halftime. Three of those points came from Iguodala, who turned down a transition layup to chuck the ball back to Curry at the 3-point line.
Curry, of course, buried it.
Everything looks better in slow-mo...... pic.twitter.com/j7oNtuRG8P
— NBCS Warriors News (@NBCSWarriors) April 3, 2017
As a result, the Warriors took a 10-point lead into the break. By halftime, Curry had already scored 22 points. He needed one more 3 for his 300th of the season.
It didnât take long for that to happen.
With that triple, Stephen Curry now has 300 for the season. pic.twitter.com/Q6uFVTgPPy
— NBCS Warriors News (@NBCSWarriors) April 3, 2017
His success wasnât limited to the 3-ball. Later in the third, he made one of those plays thatâs impossible for nearly every other player in the league.
How did this spin in?
HIGHLIGHT ZONE CANDIDATE. Curry with the beautiful layup! pic.twitter.com/eUhcRqPHUy
— NBCS Warriors News (@NBCSWarriors) April 3, 2017
Bonus look:
Clearly 3 men not enough to guard Steph pic.twitter.com/8FkjtyP6Om
— NBCS Warriors News (@NBCSWarriors) April 3, 2017
Curry wasnât the only Warrior who got going. Klay Thompson scored 23 points. Draymond Greenâs shot was off, but he stuffed the stat sheet with a triple-double (11 points, 12 boards, and 13 assists). Backup point guard Shaun Livingstonâs shooting slump is officially over. He scored 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including a backward alley-oop.
It doesnât make any sense:
Get up @ShaunLivingston! ð (@NBCSAuthentic) pic.twitter.com/LfTAiqZV3t
— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) April 3, 2017
âI pointed up,â Livingston said. âI knew he saw me, but I didnât know if he had the confidence to throw it up to me. My man looked out for me. So shout out Draymond for the lob.â
âI mean, he pointed,â Green said. âI always tell these guys, âIf you want the lob, Iâll throw it.â â
The game was essentially over midway through the third quarter. By the end, the only part that mattered was whether McGee shouldâve taken a 3-pointer in the final 10 seconds. To avoid a shot-clock violation, McGee hoisted up the shot. So, Brandon Jennings retaliated by shoving him. He was hit with a flagrant-1 foul.
After the game, McGee said (via ESPNâs Ethan Strauss) that he was happy Jennings shoved him because it wouldâve looked bad for him if he had air-balled the shot. Green said, âWe had to shoot a shot or take the turnover. So, we always shoot the ball in that situation. We donât really take turnovers. Whether you shoot a 2 or a 3, like, itâs a shot.â He added that people will make a bigger deal of what happened because it involved McGee.
But Steve Kerr revealed that he apologized to Wizards coach Scott Brooks and admitted that McGee shouldnât have taken a 3.
Steve Kerr on the controversy at the end. Says JaVale McGee shouldn't have taken that 3. Apologized to Brooks. pic.twitter.com/UDyLdOCNeR
— Sean Wagner-McGough (@seanjwagner) April 3, 2017
Putting aside a controversy that wonât ever matter again, I do think itâs important that the Warriors are back to embarrassing teams again. They arenât merely winning games, theyâre making their opponents frustrated and upset. Jennings didnât just foul McGee, he went on to accuse Green of staying in the game to get the triple-double. He called it âdisrespectful,â per 95.7 The Game.
Again, ignore the controversy. The takeaway from this game isnât that the Warriors mightâve ran up their stats and points total. Itâs that they were in the position to do that by blowing away and totally frustrating a playoff-caliber team.
So, hereâs the thing: This actually does make a ton of sense -- not Livingstonâs dunk or McGeeâs 3, but the Warriorsâ recent run of success. For any other team, losing a player of Durantâs caliber wouldâve been a fatal blow. For the Warriors, it was a minor blip. After an adjustment period, theyâre back to being the best team in basketball. It actually makes sense that the Warriors are back to being the Warriors again, even without Durant -- just like it made sense when they struggled in the immediate aftermath of his injury.
And no, itâs not worth wondering if the Warriors are better sans Durant.
âI may not play him,â Kerr joked before the game. âWe are so much better without him. Raymond [Ridder] said that there are a lot of stories out there saying we are better without him, so Iâll go with that. Maybe bring him off the bench and play him spot minutes depending on matchups.â
Kerr confirmed that Durant wonât return this week. But they might regain him at some point before the regular season ends. When that happens, donât expect the Warriors to undergo another transition phase. Donât expect them to struggle when heâs reinserted into the starting lineup.
When Durant returns, theyâll likely improve immediately because Durant is a top-five player in the world and the Warriors are a top-one team in the NBA. Itâs not rocket science. As Green said after the game, âHe wasnât brought here to fit in. He was brought here to stand out.â
Draymond on KD fitting in again when he comes back: He isn't here to fit in. pic.twitter.com/t7dQ9IU1Hi
— Sean Wagner-McGough (@seanjwagner) April 3, 2017
Makes sense.
















