No collapse this time as Curry delivers late
Midway through the fourth quarter Tuesday night, after their 13point lead gave way to a tie game, the Warriors had reason to worry: Were they about to collapse late yet again?
Twice in the previous four nights, Golden State had squandered doubledigit, fourthquarter leads as it lost to sub.500 teams. Now, with the score knotted and little less than four minutes left, the Warriors were botching defensive rotations and failing to move the ball. But just as Golden State appeared poised for a familiar letdown, it made critical shots to escape Madison Square Garden with a 114106 win over the Knicks.
This was progress for a team that has been inconsistent. Though the Warriors were bullied on the glass and in the paint Tuesday, they didn’t look overwhelmed when New York forward Julius Randle tied the game at 9797 with 3:50 left. Never mind that Golden State had totaled only three points over the first eightplus minutes of the fourth quarter.
Almost immediately, Warriors guard Stephen Curry responded with a 3pointer. Later, with Golden State nursing a twopoint lead and little more than a minute remaining, Curry curled off a screen, dribbled to the top of the key and, while drawing contact, hit an and1 jumper. His free throw put the Warriors up 105100.
His five made foul shots over the final 17.5 seconds ensured that Golden State would avoid its first threegame skid of the season. In a trip that had been defined by meltdowns, the Warriors were pleased simply to silence roughly 2,000 fans — the first crowd at Madison Square Garden in nearly a year.
Curry, who boasts a 50point game and a tripledouble in that arena, hardly appeared to have any lingering issues from the dizziness that caused him to be a late scratch Saturday in Charlotte. He scored 26 of his gamehigh 37 points in the second half, adding six rebounds and six assists.
“That’s the best shooter in the history of the game,” said guard Kelly Oubre Jr., who continued his impressive month with 19 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. “The energy that he brings and the force of when he comes off screens, especially late in games, it creates a lot of opportunities for everybody else.”
Forward Draymond Green posted seven points, 12 assists and nine rebounds. After missing 11 games with a sprained left wrist, center James Wiseman chipped in 14 points on 6for9 shooting. Center Kevon Looney, back in the starting lineup after sitting out 10 games with a sprained left ankle, thrived in the game’s nuances — screens, helpside defense, boxouts — to finish with a plus17 in 20 minutes.
This was a reminder that the Warriors can benefit from the size of Wiseman and Looney, even though they’ve showed a knack for going small. Without a player taller than 6foot7 over its previous 10 games, Golden State had the league’s thirdbest net rating, only to go 55 in that span.
At the root of the Warriors’ problems was an inability to close out games. A night after fumbling away a 13point, fourthquarter lead in Orlando, Golden State squandered a 10point lead over the final 4:44 to lose in Charlotte on Saturday.
The latter defeat required a host of late mishaps, including a Green ejection with 9.3 seconds left. But on Tuesday in New York, the Warriors channeled their freeflowing ways much of the game, using a 2710 run to take an 8269 lead midway through the third quarter.
After watching his team withstand the Knicks’ late rally, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said, “I really believe we are close to breaking through. I probably have said that several times over recent weeks, but, given that we’re healthy now … there’s no reason why we can’t break through and become the team that I believe we can.”
To tap into that potential, the Warriors must put together their first extended win streak of the season. Not once have they had three victories in a row. After Wednesday’s game in Indiana, the Warriors have four games before the AllStar break to prove that they’re no longer the erratic bunch that follows up encouraging performances with vexing ones.
“We’re a resilient team, which is why we haven't had a long losing streak,” Curry said. “But we also have a lot to learn, which is why we haven’t had a long winning streak.”