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Steph Curry Reacts to Draymond Green's Wild Ejection in Warriors Win vs. Suns
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- Steph Curry Reacts to Draymond Green's Wild Ejection in Warriors Win vs. Suns
Nobody is more accustomed to Draymond Green's antics than long-time teammate Stephen Curry.
In the same breath, Curry is also best equipped to navigate situations where Green loses his cool and gets ejected — even if it doesn't always end well for the team.
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Curry used that experience to lead the Golden State Warriors to a hard-earned 116-113 win over the Phoenix Suns at Chase Center on Monday — their fifth straight victory.
Green was ejected a couple of minutes into the third quarter.
Togetherness
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The Warriors leaned on their unity to continue erasing their woeful 0-3 start to the campaign. They are now 5-3.
But they could well have been 4-4 should Green's ejection not have had the desired effect.
Green was tossed after being assessed two technicals after he hard-fouled the Suns' center, Khaman Maluach, before getting into a scuffle with Dillon Brooks.
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The game was hanging in the balance at the time, and Golden State used its emotional leader's outburst to its advantage.
"We had to respond. I'm glad we did," Curry said afterward. "It was a combination of that moment, having our brother's back when he defends us. But it was also understanding that this is one of those games; most of the guys on a back-to-back, Phoenix had been off for a couple of days, they were 1-3, and knew they were going to come out playing desperate.
"Thankfully, we just made a couple more plays, but definitely that moment just kept us in it."
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The Warriors overcame a six-point halftime deficit in the third quarter, winning 42- 36 in the frame. Then, cooler heads prevailed down the stretch.
Curry's 38-year-old dome was the coldest as he led Golden State with 34 points, six rebounds, and seven assists.
Like Fine Wine
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Will he ever slow down? As of right now, it doesn't look like it.
Curry has shifted into a higher gear in his last three games, averaging 36.3 points. That has propelled him to No. 3 in scoring in the NBA, with 29.2 points per game in Year 18 — only trailing Luka Doncic (37.7) and Tyrese Maxey (29.6).
He has been crucial to Golden State's season-altering five-game win streak, as ever, despite sitting out back-to-backs for obvious reasons.
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Yaxel Lendeborg handled business for the Warriors on the front end, pouring in 37 points in the 124-112 win against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. Curry came to the fore to take down Phoenix.
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Curry shot 9-for-21 from the field and 5-for-13 from beyond the arc. He made up for his relative inefficiency by going 11-for-12 at the line.
Brandin Podziemski added 20 points on 7-for-15 shooting. Lendeborg posted 16 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
Georges Niang and Charles Bassey produced a pair of enormous performances off the bench. Niang chipped in 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists on 5-for-6 shooting. Bassey went 7-for-10 from the field en route to 19 points and eight rebounds.
The Warriors will look to keep the hottest run of wins in the league alive when they host the struggling Miami Heat (2-5) on Thursday.
