SAN FRANCISCO – Stephen Curry shook off a tough shooting night, he scored 25 points including the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:15 left in overtime. Curry then set up Andrew Wiggins to bury another three-pointer from the right corner to lead the Warriors to a 120-112 victory over the Miami Heat.
Draymond Green was a late scratch due to right ankle soreness according to the team. Mychal Mulder made his fourth start of his career in Green’s place, and his first start of the season.
“Obviously how the game went tonight with Draymond being a late scratch, we were shuffling around trying to figure out rotations,” said Curry. “It’s weird. We got a lot of open shots all night. Myself included…but we scrapped and competed defensively down the stretch.”
Curry’s shooting touch was off tonight, connecting on 8-of-27 from the floor including an abysmal 5-of-20 from three-point range. The 15 missed three’s are the most in his career according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Curry was 3-for-11 in the first half, missing eight of his nine three-point tries.
But when Golden State needed him most, Curry still delivered in the clutch knocking down two big triple’s in overtime to preserve the Warriors third win in four games. Curry added 11 assists and seven rebounds. Golden State had 32 assists on 43 made baskets.
“It’s just a testament to who he is,” Kent Bazemore said. “When you’ve got a guy like that who believes in you and instills that confidence in you, you believe you can do anything.”
Bazemore recorded his second 20-point game of the season, finishing with a season-high 26 points off the bench. The Warriors started with 13-3 run to open up the third quarter to get back into the game after trailing 61-46 at halftime time.
The Heat was ahead 99-85 with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, Golden State roared back from the 14-point deficit. Curry’s three with 2:26 left in regulation cut Miami’s lead to 103-101. Bazemore made back-to-back buckets to tie the game with 52 seconds left. The Warriors had a chance to win the game in regulation but Kelly Oubre Jr.’s three at the buzzer was short.
Oubre and Wiggins each scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds apiece. Golden State forced overtime by closing out the fourth quarter on a 20-6 run leaving the Heat shocked.
“The last few minutes of the fourth we were just scrambling out there and I thought Baze kind of led the charge. He really made some huge plays for us and kept us in it,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. “Then of course Steph, this is so typical of Steph, he’s just the kind of player and the kind of person who can be in the midst of one of his worst shooting nights of the year and still hit three enormous shots to help us win the game.”
Jimmy Butler recorded his second consecutive triple-double, finishing with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for the Heat, but shot 6-of-15 from the floor. Miami outrebounded Golden State 50-45. Bam Adebayo scored a team-high 24 points to go with seven rebounds for the Heat, who fell to the Clippers 125-118 on Monday night in Los Angeles.
“Once it got close and it became a possession game. That’s when Curry came alive,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
After finishing 3-1 on their current homestand, the Warriors (16-13) go on a four-game road trip starting Friday in Orlando. It will be the second meeting with the Magic, as Golden State won the previous matchup, 111-105 on Feb. 11 with Curry scoring 40 points and nailing 10 three-pointers in the contest.
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