San Francisco – Stephen Curry scored a game-high 37 points to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-107. Curry dropped eight 3-pointers despite missing Klay Thompson who was a late scratch due to feeling ill. It’s been a tough homestand, but Golden State ended it with a win before taking off for a five-game road trip that includes a trip to Philly.
“I found out about an hour before the game, Yodes (Drew Yoder, Director, Medical Services) texted me and Klay wasn’t feeling well,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. “Pretty easy choice to put Brandin (Podziemski) with that group. Then obviously that bumped up Lester (Quinones) and he got some minutes, Cory Joseph played behind BP. So, everybody stepped up and did a good job.”
The Chemistry has vastly improved over since Green’s return. Jonathan Kuminga who credits his improvement of theme to Green, has become more aggressive on both sides of the floor. Kuminga’s confidence is soaring, and it shows, he recorded 20-or-more points in his seventh consecutive game, extending a career-long streak.
Tonight, marked Kuminga’s 10th game of 20-plus points on the season. During his seven game 20-point streak he’s averaging 25.1 points on 61.9% from the field and 64.5% from 3-point range. Kuminga’s increased minutes and being moved into the starting lineup has excelled his game, especially playing alongside Andrew Wiggins and Green.
“I mean Draymond (Green) really changed things with his return because he connects those guys at both ends of the floor just with his communication defensively, and then the way he helps get us organized offensively,” Kerr explained. “Great to see Wiggs and JK both playing so well and playing well together. It’s fun, you can see the team, we’re shifting a little bit with the look, how we’re playing, and who we’re playing. I know tonight Philly was short-handed, but I thought it was a really good defensive effort from our guys.”
“The way that he is attacking the basket, I don’t think there is anyone who can stop him from getting to his spot,” said Green on Kuminga. “At times I have to remind him can somebody stop you from getting anywhere that you want to go. When he is attacking the basket the way that he is, there are not many people in this league that can jump with him. You see how shocked he was when KJ (Martin) blocked his shot. There are not many people who can do that. When you are double-teaming Steph (Curry) and all those things and he is getting downhill like that, it is a tough matchup for anyone.”
Green’s mentor approach to Kuminga and other guys on the team is what was missing in his absence. Green’s ability to run the floor is the key to the team’s success. Wiggins has aslo improved since returning to the starting lineup as well, he’s tallied his sixth game of 20-or-more points, including the last two games consecutively. Wiggins scored in double-figures in six of the last seven games, including the last five consecutively.
“I mean it’s always great to have the leader of the team giving you guys that type of confidence, and it’s not like we lost it,” Kuminga said about Green. “Just that every other day, no matter if we have confidence or not, he’s always there hyping me up, me and Wiggs (Andrew Wiggins) at the same time. Just telling us to keep going no matter what.”
“This team is different than we’ve had in the past,” Curry said. “Because this team is different, some of the patterns that we’re used to, and with Draymond (Green) out for so long, it opened opportunities to kind of reassess how we’re trying to create shots, how we’re trying to create momentum offensively.
Even how teams are guarding us has gotten a little bit more extreme. Trying to take me and Klay (Thompson) out of that off-ball stuff, and crowd our space, and make other guys handle and make plays. So, you have to lean into that and get a little bit organized. I know we lost the last two games before and won tonight but our offense has been really solid. I think we’re getting better we just got to keep doing it.”
Golden State shot 55.7 percent from the field, improving to 10-2 this season when shooting 50 percent-or-higher from the field. Tonight marked their 17th 30-assist game of the season (10-7 in those games). The Warriors have made at least 55 percent of their field goal attempts in three of their last four contests (56.0% vs. ATL, 55.8% vs. SAC, 55.7% vs. PHI). However, Golden State tallied a season-low 13 bench points (prev. 22, 1/27 vs. LAL).
Up Next: The Warriors travel to Memphis to face the Grizzlies on Friday, February 2 (5 p.m. PST), in the first game of a five-game road trip that includes stops in Atlanta, Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Indiana.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr Pregame Press Conference
ON THE TEAM’S RECENT CLOSE LOSSES:
“Not great, not great. We’re not much for moral victories around here. But I like our team’s energy, I like their chemistry, I like their intent, and I believe in my guys, and I think we’re going to get things going. So we got to win more of these close games, I know we play a ton of them. But I feel good about the direction where we’re heading.”
ON DRAYMOND GREEN PLAYING CENTER MINUTES:
“We’re definitely playing him more at the five. We’re going to commit to this lineup, the Wiggs (Andrew Wiggins), JK (Jonathan Kuminga), Draymond, we want to play this combination. We got way more transition opportunities the other night, more transition points. I feel like we can match up with perimeter players a little better with that lineup. So we’re going to commit to that. Doesn’t mean Draymond won’t play some four, but we do feel like we need to get a good look at this.”
ON GAME PLANNING FOR THE 76ERS:
“The whole scouting report is based on Joel and Tyrese (Maxey). With Tyrese being out the focus is on Joel, if Joel doesn’t play the game plan goes out the window and you just go play a basketball game, and try to make sure the guys know tendencies for the other players who are going to be playing out there. You know, we know, any NBA fan knows, the scariest games are when the stars don’t play because you have a whole bunch of young, talented players who get out there and can’t wait to see the floor, and make their mark. We’ve lost a lot of these games the last couple of years. So no matter who’s out there tonight we have to be ready.”
