Curry throws on cape to salvage win
Late outburst helps Golden State snap 5-game losing streak despite bench’s woes
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr kept his promise. He experimented with numerous new second-unit lineups against former assistant Mike Brown and the Sacramento Kings on Monday night. It almost proved costly. But Stephen Curry threw on his superhero cape and poured in a season-high 47 points with eight rebounds and eight assists in 38 minutes, hitting a series of clutch shots in the waning minutes to will Golden State to a 116-113 win. The Warriors’ losing streak ended at five as the team improved to 4-7.
“You kind of know when to get out the way,” forward Draymond Green said. “It was one of those times where he was taking over. He wasn’t looking to pass the ball unless he absolutely had to pass the ball. And you understand that so you try to do all that you can to give him the matchups he wants or get him the looks that he wants. But ultimately, he took that game over by himself.”
Andrew Wiggins added 25 points, including three 3-pointers down the stretch. Klay Thompson had 16 points, albeit on 6-for-18 shooting.
The Warriors’ defense was solid throughout the night, but fouling once again almost cost Golden State. The Kings attempted 29 free throws and made 25. But Sacramento shot 40.7% from the field and 35% from deep, and that kept the game in reach — for the Warriors, and for Curry.
Curry (17 points, 6-for-8) and Wiggins (13 points, 5-for-5) combined for 30 of the Warriors’ 37 fourth-quarter points, outscoring the Kings (25 points in the final period).
“That fourth quarter was kind of just win-at-all-costsmode,” Curry said. “Just trying
to make plays. Thankfully, shots went down but we needed some results. We still have some issues. We still need to play better. But we needed a win to feel good about something coming off of that 0-5 road trip.”
Despite the win, the Warriors’ bench continued to struggle. Each reserve again finished negative in plus/minus, including
Ty Jerome, who was coming off a strong performance Friday against the Pelicans but was a team-worst minus-22 in 12 minutes Monday. Because of that, four of Steve Kerr’s starters were forced to play 36-plus, with Kevon Looney (21) being the exception.
Over the final 12 minutes, Kerr essentially threw his experimental
lineups out the window and rode his starters. Only Anthony Lamb (five minutes) and Jordan Poole (two minutes) got off the bench over that stretch. After the game, Kerr said it was necessary to play his starters heavy minutes, given the flow of the game, but he and and Green agreed that strategy isn’t sustainable.
“That’s tough to keep up throughout the season and then get to the playoffs, No. 1, healthy, and No. 2, be as fresh as you can possibly be,” Green said. “We did what we had to do tonight because it was very imperative that we came out of here with a win. But we’re going to need our guys to continue to get better.”
With Jonathan Kuminga being added to the rotation on top of the surprise addition of Lamb, James Wiseman and JaMychal Green didn’t play Monday. Kuminga finished with five points in nine minutes but was minus-17; he did not play at all in the second half. Lamb played 16 minutes, scored four points
and was minus-4.
Kerr assured reporters that Kuminga will be back in the rotation Friday against Cleveland. As for Wiseman and JaMychal Green, Kerr said both will find their way back into the rotation at some point, but right now, the plan is to play “smaller and a little more mobile” in the frontcourt and alternate between Looney and Draymond Green at the ‘5.’
“I think the most important thing is that when we’re small, we defend and rebound, and I think we did a good job of that tonight,” Draymond Green said. “I think teams have always struggled with our smaller lineup and it’s something that’s had an unbelievable run of success over the years. So if it works, we’re going to it.
“One thing we know for certain is Steve is going to call your number. Always has, always will. And you have to make sure you’re ready when that number is called.”