Warriors guard Stephen Curry has reached a level of superstardom where something as minor as a taping issue on his foot can be a major story line.
For much of the first half of Friday night’s 118-97 win over the Nuggets at Chase Center, Curry’s slight limp and apparent fixation with tying his right shoe tightly left many to wonder: Is he hurt? Why are the Warriors letting the face of their franchise risk serious injury by playing?
Less than three minutes into Golden State’s first game with fans this season, after a defender landed on Curry’s right foot as he looked to pass, Curry turned toward the bench and asked to be pulled. Nearly six minutes passed on the game clock before he checked back in. And even then, Curry was in visible discomfort.
Midway through the second quarter, news surfaced that Curry was merely bothered by the taping on his right foot. There was no cause for concern. This might have been the biggest takeaway on a night the Warriors showed progress.
Two nights removed from enduring yet another fourth-quarter meltdown in a loss to the Wizards, Golden State got key contributions from its supporting cast until Curry, his taping issue resolved, started delivering a steady stream of highlights. After entering halftime with just seven points, he scored 25 in the second half — including 13 in the fourth quarter — to finish with 32 points on 11-for-18 shooting (4-for-9 from 3-point range).
“He looked hobbled, but then he settled in and was fine,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, whose team moved back to .500. “I thought he played a really good game. … The beauty with Steph is he’s always so poised. He always finds a way to get himself going.”
The 1,935 fans in attendance made sure Curry felt appreciated. As he stepped to the foul line midway through the fourth quarter, he heard “M-V-P! M-V-P!” emanate from the sparse crowd. Several minutes later, that three-letter chant reverberated throughout the arena as Curry returned to the foul line for an And-1.
“I’m not surprised by that,” guard Mychal Mulder said of the MVP chants. “I think it’s a no-brainer. ... He’s got all our (MVP) votes. I think he’s got everyone in the Bay Area’s votes.”
It only made the moment more satisfying for those fans that the Warriors were well on their way to their sixth win in eight games. After Golden State seized a 15-point lead on a Kelly Oubre Jr. dunk with little less than 10 minutes left, it was never seriously threatened.
Oubre (23 points), Andrew Wiggins (19 points), Jordan Poole (15 points), Draymond Green (19 assists, 12 rebounds), Mulder (14 points) and Juan Toscano-Anderson (plus-29 in 26 minutes) did their part as the Warriors shot 53.6% from the field (38.5% from 3-point range) with 40 assists to only 14 turnovers. Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, the MVP front-runner, was a minus-18 in his 33 minutes.
Friday was one of the Warriors’ most complete performances of the season, and it came against a potential title contender. Kerr cited the fans, whose chants were louder than a crowd of less than 2,000 might seem capable of producing, as a driving force behind the victory.
After well more than a year away from Chase Center, the Warriors finally have the vocal support they’d been missing — a notable development for a group that often needs hustle plays to overcome talent deficits.
“With fans coming back to the arena, you want to get them a win,” Green said. “I know it was around 1,900 people, but it sounded like way more than 1,900 people.”
Connor Letourneau covers the Warriors for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: cletourneau@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Con_Chron
"Give" - Google News
April 24, 2021 at 11:47AM
https://ift.tt/3gGOmt3
Steph Curry, Warriors give fans a show in convincing win over Nuggets - San Francisco Chronicle
"Give" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2YqGX80
https://ift.tt/2YquBwx
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Steph Curry, Warriors give fans a show in convincing win over Nuggets - San Francisco Chronicle"
Post a Comment