New-look lineup, same old Curry
Tee times help bring back Splash Brothers
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson found rest and rejuvenation on golf courses in Palm Springs (Curry) and Cabo San Lucas (Thompson) during their abbreviated All-Star break.
The respite did more than sharpen their swings — it helped them start shooting like the Splash Brothers again.
Curry and Thompson headed into the break on a sour note, shooting poorly and watching Portland’s Damian Lillard and CJ
McCollum thoroughly outplay them Feb. 14. The Warriors and their acclaimed backcourt bounced back Thursday night, resuming the season with a 134-127 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Curry scored 44 points on 14-for-19 shooting (including 8-for-11 on threes) and Thompson added 19 while going 8for-14 from the field. They essentially took turns: Thompson almost couldn’t miss in the first half, and Curry soared into his familiar, otherworldly realm in the second half.
He scored 29 points after halftime, making 10 of 12 shots from the field. Every time it seemed like the Clippers might catch the Warriors, there went Curry finding the bottom of the net.
“I think I missed every shot in the All-Star Game, so I could make them when it counted,” Curry said.
This offered a striking contrast to Golden State’s previous game, eight nights earlier. Curry and Thompson were 12-for-32 that night, and they were collectively outscored 73-34 by Lillard and McCollum.
Then, during All-Star weekend in Los Angeles, Curry and Thompson seemed mortal. Thompson shot well but fell to Phoenix’s Devin Booker in the three-point-shooting contest, and Curry struggled from long distance in the All-Star Game.
Thompson was crazy-efficient in the first half Thursday night. He made his first seven shots from the field, including two threes, and had 16 points as he stepped to the free-throw line with 7:05 left in the second quarter.
Then he broke up his own perfect game.
Thompson still reached halftime with a sparkling stat line: 7-for-8 from the field, 1-for-2 on free-throw tries and 17 points in 18 minutes. He didn’t miss a field-goal attempt until 2:50 remained before halftime. Thompson also became the 10th player in franchise history to reach the 10,000-point milestone for his career.
On this night, his early accuracy set the tone for his team. The Warriors shot 69.4 percent from the field in the first half and 62.7 percent for the game. Thompson cooled off in the second half, going 1-for-6.
Curry needed time to find his rhythm, even if he was productive in the first half (15 points). He ended the first quarter by making a buzzerbeating three just inside halfcourt. Draymond Green raised one arm in triumph well before the ball ripped through the net.
Green liked the way Curry and Thompson staggered their hot streaks, unintentionally or not.
“Sometimes, their aggression level is a little different,” Green said. “Klay really had it going at the beginning of the game, and Steph got it going in the second half. We needed all of it.”
Earlier on Thursday, after shootaround, Thompson talked at length (an uncommon happening) about his golf game. He hit the links Monday and Tuesday in Mexico, a therapeutic trip after All-Star weekend.
Thompson carries a 15handicap, but he clearly enjoys the game.
“It’s far from Steph’s level,” Thompson said. “It’s something I’m going to be better at hopefully in the next five years. Hopefully be a scratch golfer in the next 10. It’s a goal of mine one day.”