ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — For the Golden State Warriors last night, many things happened again, some things happened a few times, and one thing happened for the first time.
The many things that happened again: Getting behind early in the game to the Dallas Mavericks.
“It’s just a tough period for us,” Stephen Curry said after the game, “We talked about it yesterday, this morning, before the game, about coming out with energy. I felt like we did it on the defensive end, just offensively we weren’t clicking.”
“We can’t continue to get behind like that and continue to try to come back and win. Once again, our crowd helped us get back into the game,” Draymond Green said, “Let’s not play lackadaisical and get down 15 or 20 points and then play hard and come back and win by one or two points. If we can play like that for the entire 48 minutes then that the team that everybody expected.”
Per Monte Poole‘s recap, this is how bad it got:
Sharpshooting Stephen Curry missed the entire rim, not once but twice. Klay Thompson committed turnovers on consecutive fourth-quarter possessions, first with a bad pass and then by muffing a pass.
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And Harrison Barnes missed a layup and, seconds later, nearly airballed a 3-pointer.
Fast-forward to the 4th quarter, where Rusty Simmons explains:
The Warriors were down 92-86 with 1:26 remaining, when Curry decided he wasn’t going to lose on this night. He converted a four-point play, then had one of his 10 assists on a Draymond Green three-pointer. Curry’s pull-up 19-footer with officially three seconds remaining was the game-winner.
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“I can remember Coach (Lou) Carnesseca talking about rehearsal and repetition and, before the curtains open up, you work on your lines and your craft,” coach (Mark) Jackson said. “I’ve seen Steph Curry – every single day – take that shot hundreds and hundreds of times, thousands of times. So when the curtains opened up, you expected it to go in.”
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Curry scored 24 of his game-high 33 points in the second half, Barnes had 17 points and David Lee added 15 points and 11 rebounds. Andrew Bogut pulled down 18 rebounds.
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Green might have been the player of the game – if Curry hadn’t been otherworldly late – with his nine points, five rebounds, four assists, two blocked shots and endless amount of energy.
Carl Steward gave the nod to Green:
Curry was the lead hero, to be sure, rallying himself and the Warriors from another slow start. He finished with 33 points and 10 assists, and essentially broke down the Dallas defense on his own for the wide-open winning shot.
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But one also could have made a strong hero case for Green, the Warriors’ second-year forward who down the stretch shut down Dirk Nowitzki defensively, set up many of Curry’s big shots offensively and also made a 3-pointer of his own with 49.9 seconds left that gave Golden State its first lead since early in the game.
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Green logged 28 minutes and played the entire fourth quarter as the Warriors put themselves in position for another big comeback after cutting the deficit to six points entering the fourth quarter.
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“Usually when I go in, what we need is defending or energy — we’re lacking one of the two or both,” he said. “If we’re losing, that’s probably what it is.”
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Green also brings savvy, as he demonstrated in the crucial final minutes with a brilliant cross-court pass to Curry in the corner for a 3-pointer, and again when he set a screen for Curry on a four-point play.
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In short, without Green’s effort, the Warriors don’t pull this game out and Curry doesn’t have what he claimed was his first buzzer-beating game-winner since high school.
And here’s that buzzer-beating game-winner as described by Sarah Todd:
(Monta) Ellis took one final swipe at the lead with just under thirty seconds, giving Curry and the Warriors a chance to walk the ball up and set up in the half court.
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A Mavericks defensive switch left the taller, slower, older Shawn Marion trying to guard Curry near the top of the key. Curry drove right, got Marion to bite on an up fake, then stroked home a jumper from beyond the right elbow to win the game with 1.5 seconds showing on the game clock.
Poole gave the game ball to Steph:
STANDOUT PERFORMANCE: Curry was superb in the fourth quarter, with 16 points and zero turnovers – after committing eight through the first three quarters.
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Harrison Barnes finished with 17, David Lee with 15 and Klay Thompson had 11.
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Andrew Bogut was huge on the glass, grabbing a season-high 18 rebounds
Another game, another bad start. And yet, another game, another strong finish.
“It talks about our character and makes a statement,” Jackson said, “At the end of the day we are a team with plenty of fight and high character. We are not going to quit even when we dig ourselves a hole like we did tonight. Guys stepped up and picked each other up.”
“Hang on to the rope,” Jackson added.
“You play well in the 4th quarter when the game’s on the line,” Curry said, “that means a lot. Making winning plays — obviously you’re not gonna hit a game winner every night — but if you can somehow just, with your teammates, will yourself to a victory when things are tied up in the 4th quarter, that’s a big moment.”
[NOTE: Stay tuned as we post more from the locker room, including some quotes from Curry on if he has reached superstardom, as well as give our own #Roaracle Recap.]Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
