Charm and sportsmanship are both necessary for a successful basketball career. And no one does a better job of combining the two than Stephen Curry. One of Curry’s trademarks is the way he shoots the ball and then turns his back on the basket, confident that he has made the basket. Both in training and in the heat of a game, he’ll do this.
Steph used the same play in tonight’s game against the Rockets. And nobody could avoid mentioning something that took place on Saturday night. During the Wizards’ game against the Grizzlies, Jordan Poole attempted to mimic Steph Curry’s ‘No-look’ celebration. Poole celebrated his successful shot by turning to the spectators. However, he felt ashamed because he had missed the shot.
Perhaps Poole still has something to pick up from the pros.
Steph Curry’s late-game surge leads Warriors to 106-95 victory over Rockets
Sunday night saw the Golden State Warriors notch a 106-95 win over the Houston Rockets. The young season has seen the Dubs go 2-1, with both victories coming on the road.
Chris Paul sat on the bench for the first time in his NBA career due to the return of Draymond Green to the starting lineup for the Warriors. In his first regular-season game action since last year, Green seemed especially out of sync and slowed down a starting five that had found a groove with CP3 at the helm. The Warriors need Green to be a part of their starting lineup.
The Rockets only managed a six-point advantage because of the Warriors’ slow start. In addition, the Rockets’ extremely youthful bench unit easily outplayed Paul. With a 16-point advantage, Golden State’s second unit comprising Paul, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Dario ari, and Gary Payton II went on a 27-8 run between the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second.
Paytоn’s оffensive оutput stооd оut, as he scоred 13 оf his 15 pоints befоre halftime. He shоt 6-8 оverall fоr the game, including 3-4 frоm beyоnd the arc. Paytоn’s effective оffensive and defensive play resulted in a game-high plus-minus оf +13.
The Warriors’ starting lineup was unable to extend their advantage over the Rockets’ bench and instead started giving the ball back to Houston right away. There was no standout performance by any one Rockets player. As an alternative, four of Houston’s five starters score in double figures, putting them in the lead. Fred Van Vleet, the Rockets’ point guard, was the only starter not to score in double figures. The game’s outcome would have been different if Van Vleet had scored from deep.
Over the remainder of the third quarter, the Rockets chipped away at the Warriors’ lead, eventually tying the game and briefly gaining the lead midway through the fourth. But after a rather dull first half, Steph Curry completely changed the momentum of the game. Four times in a row, Curry iced the game for the Dubs by draining a three-pointer. His final stats included 22 points (6-15 FG), five boards, and six dimes.For the second straight game, Klay Thompson played quietly and effectively, scoring 19 points on just 12 shots from the field (5-for-10 from deep).
The next stop on the Dubs’ preseason road trip is tomorrow night at 5:00 PM Pacific time in New Orleans to take on the Pelicans.