Dubs’ emotional roller-coaster takes a wrong turn before rivalry originally appeared nbc sports birea
Steph Curry was asked Tuesday night how he felt physically after coming back from his second game 11-game absence Summarize it thoroughly. He wished he didn’t have to say the second part.
“Feeling great physically, emotionally everywhere,” Curry told reporters in Oklahoma City.
And who can blame him?
Curry had just watched the Warriors complete a 5–0 homestand at the Chase Center. All five wins came with him wanting to make a comeback. He was gutted to join a team that finally seemed to be making their strides at the right time.
The Warriors ended their homestand over .500 for the first time this season. They outscored their opponents by 83 points in the second half, recording a 100.6 defensive rating, and dominated again in the third quarter.
Then Golden State hit the road.
In his first game back after being out for a month, Curry scored 19 points in the fourth quarter and 27 overall on Sunday. it was not enough in one 113-105 loss For the LeBron James-less Los Angeles Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena.
He scored 26 points in the second half and 40 total on Tuesday night. even one was not enough Damage to 137-128 Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center.
Golden State lost its seventh straight road game and fell to 7–25 on the season. The defending champions aren’t helping themselves either. They have now not held the lead after the first quarter in 10 consecutive games. They are 0-16 this season when trailing after the first quarter, and 0-19 trailing after three quarters.
His last road win came a month earlier on January 30 at OKC. The games against the Lakers and Thunder were considered likely to build momentum before the real test.
“Always confident, because that’s why we show up,” Curry said. “But you’ve got to have something to show for it at some point. We’ve got another chance on Thursday against a great team in what’s probably going to be a wild atmosphere and we’ve got to be ready for it.”
“Confidence never wavers. It’s frustrating when you can’t get it done, and something like, ‘Yeah, we know how to win on the road with this particular team. We need one more. Got a chance.”
That opportunity, that great team, that wild atmosphere that Curry is talking about, comes against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. With or without Ja Morant, this will be an electrifying battle that will have the basketball world on the edge of their seats. If the season ends on a Wednesday, the season-ending rivals will play each other in the first round.
“Whoop That Trick” would blast over the in-arena speakers. Bad blood will be seen and felt. The Warriors have defeated the Grizzlies in both contests with them this season, but both games were held in San Francisco.
The referee will be on red alert, waiting for an opportunity to blow the whistle whenever a player dares to cross the line. Draymond Green has 15 technical fouls, and Jordan Poole now has strange called in oklahoma city, Remember, 16 technical fouls result in a one-game suspension.
At this point in the season, the Warriors cannot afford to lose Green for one game. They can’t tolerate the kind of actions they did at the end of the first half against the Thunder.
With the Warriors trailing by one, 65–64, in the final minute of the first half, Poole went to the basket and briefly lost his handle. Aaron Wiggins ran to the 3-point line to assist Klay Thompson, leaving a hole in the middle of the paint. Green made the cut but Poole didn’t see him in time, prompting the four-time champion to respond in a way that should never happen to a teammate.
He jumped up and down. He threw up his hands in despair. Worst of all, Green turned his back on the play, missing a turnover, not from Poole, but from a pass thrown in his direction.
“I thought we were a little disconnected at times in the first half, and so we talked about that at halftime,” Kerr told reporters in Oklahoma City. “Tried to get out there and compete in the second half. But there was definitely a disconnect in the first half and it cost us.”
Drummond’s performance was about more than disconnection. This is unforgivable. How would he react if his partner did this to him in the middle of the game? We already know about his infamous in-game spat with Kevin Durant.
The 33-year-old is in his 11th season, and is considered a defensive heartbeat. Instead, he didn’t back down at all. Green and the Warriors are extremely fortunate for what happened next.
As his teammates recovered, the Thunder missed four chances at the rim to score. During this, Green stood on his face on the other side of the court.
Klay Thompson said, “I know how delicate this business is, and how it can be taken away from you in an instant.” “It’s important to realize that it’s a privilege to be out there and it’s our dreams, our childhood dreams. I can do a better job by being more assertive and keeping the team engaged, especially in the early days.”
“I don’t feel like I did a good enough job tonight, so Thursday in Memphis – I’ll do that.”
Connected: Poor road performance undermining Dubs’ late-season push
Maybe that’s the kind of reminder these Warriors need as they try to make another title run. Maybe an unexpected voice like Thompson’s will serve them best right now.
Warriors have 16 games left. Only two of them, the Houston Rockets and the San Antonio Spurs, are against teams that are not in the playoffs or play-in tournament contention. This season has undoubtedly been an emotional roller coaster. The trajectory rose to a new altitude before hitting the road.
With the emotional lift, or rather letdown, awaiting them in Memphis, the car is on a straight downhill right now.
