Dubs get past Curry’s bad night
Curry had worst shooting performance of career, but Warriors manage to hold on against Raptors
In a game when Stephen Curry had his worst shooting performance of his career, his supporting cast stepped up and the Golden State Warriors defeated the Toronto Raptors, 106-105, Sunday night at Chase Center.
Curry, who entered the night as the NBA’s second-leading scorer, was the target of an aggressive Raptors defense that chased, battered and bloodied the twotime MVP. He finished with just 11 points on 2-of-16 shooting (1-of10 from 3-point range), while Damion Lee’s free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining clinched the win for the Warriors (6- 4).
Hounded by guard Fred VanVleet, an assortment of long defenders and a box-and-1 defense, Curry made his first shot of the game but then missed his next 13 field goal attempts until he made a key 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter.
All of the attention being paid to Curry created opportunities for his teammates, as six others scored in double digits. Andrew Wiggins finished with 17 points and four assists, Eric Paschall (15 points) and Lee (13 points) contributed off the bench and Draymond Green recorded 10 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
Brad Wanamaker’s 2-pointer gave the Warriors a 16-point lead midway through the second quarter.
But the Raptors (2-7) made a run in the second half and Kyle Lowry scored 16 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter as Toronto erased that deficit and took a fourpoint lead with 2:58 remaining.
That’s when Curry made his first shot since the opening period — a 3-pointer to narrow the new deficit to one. Curry helped set up a potential game-winning op
portunity when he crowded forward Pascal Siakam on the Raptors’ second-to-last possession, forcing Siakam into a tough shot that was blocked by Kent Bazemore.
With 7.7 seconds left, Lee inbounded the ball to Curry who, after getting swarmed by Toronto’s defense, passed back to Lee. Lee rose for a 3-point attempt and was fouled before the shot, putting him on the line for the gamewinning free throws. Siakam’s go- ahead midrange jumper rimmed out.
Here are some takeaways from the game. TORONTO PULLED OUT OF THE TRICKS ON CURRY » Before the game, Raptors coach Nick Nurse said they planned to throw many defensive looks at Curry: The box- and-1 they famously used in the 2019 Finals, other zone schemes and blitzes when he had the ball. But, more consistently, they were physical with him. By the second half, Curry had blood on his jersey from trying to shake free of Toronto’s clamps.
Nearly any time he found a semblance of space, a Raptors player would ditch his assignment and fly in to get in front of him. When Curry drove, Toronto’s defense crashed.
Few players across the league demand this sort of attention from a defense. “I hadn’t noticed it until I got on this team,” Wiggins said, “but it’s crazy.”
Credit the rest of Golden State’s roster, which shot 46.7% overall outside of Curry’s 2- for-16 performance.
“I missed some easy ones throughout the game, but they did a great job sending bodies,” said Curry, who had six assists. “It’s a step in the right direction when
I get that much attention, and other guys can knock down shots.”
THE DEFENSE CONTINUES TO PLAY WELL » The Warriors have now held their opponent to fewer than 110 points in four-straight games. Tonight, they held the Raptors to 40.6% shooting and the half- court defense was at it’s best of the season: Back out Toronto’s 25 fast-break points and they scored just 80 against Golden State’s set defense.
Wiggins, in particular, had a strong night, as he defended multiple positions. He spent most of the game on Siakam, who needed 19 shots to score 25 points. When Lowry got hot in the fourth, Kerr stuck Wiggins on him to slow him down. On Toronto’s final possession of the game, Wiggins picked up Siakam at the logo, stayed in front of him and forced him into a tough turnaround jumper.
With Klay Thompson out for the season, these responsibilities fall onto Wiggins.
LEE STEPS UP AGAIN IN THE CLUTCH » Two weeks ago, Lee made the game-winning 3-pointer in the Warriors’ win over the Bulls on a similar play to the one that led to his go- ahead free throws Sunday. Like he did in Chicago, before Lee inbounded the ball he told his teammates that if the opponent denies Curry the ball, he’ll be ready to take the shot. Instead of a clean look like against the Bulls, Lee was fouled and had to get the points at the line.
But when he approached the free-throw line, Lee wasn’t thinking of Chicago. Rather, he thought of last season’s home loss to the Raptors, in which he missed three-straight free throws that could have cut the deficit to one with 25 seconds left.
“I wanted to redeem myself,” Lee said.