Curry leads Warriors past Raptors for 8th straight road win. Toronto star Barnes breaks finger
Stephen Curry was back in vintage 3-point form again, connecting on seven shots from deep and finishing with 25 points, six rebounds and six assists as the Warriors grabbed their eighth consecutive road win, beating the Toronto Raptors 120-105 on Friday.
Jonathan Kuminga added 24 points and six rebounds as Golden State rode a dominant third quarter and then held on for the victory in the second half of a back-to-back.
This came after the Warriors were delayed on the tarmac in New York a day earlier and didn’t arrive in Canada until 8 a.m.
Golden State also was short-handed. Andrew Wiggins missed his third consecutive game due to personal reasons, while upstart rookie Brandin Podziemski was held out because of a sore right ankle.
That opened the door for Klay Thompson to return to the starting unit. He had 14 points (four 3-pointers) and seven rebounds. Moses Moody, who made another start in place of Wiggins, scored 17 points and was a plus-17. Golden State is 6-1 in games that Moody starts.
Chris Paul added 13 points, five rebounds and two steals.
The Warriors trailed much of the first half then flipped things around coming out of halftime when they outscored the Raptors by a whopping 32-19. Toronto never recovered after that.
Here are the takeaways from Friday’s game.
Curry cooking again from deep
The NBA’s 3-point king is back to being on point with his shooting behind the arc. Curry has made 15 3s in his last two games, including seven against the Raptors.
That’s a very encouraging sign after Curry had been sputtering with his deep shot. In the five games prior to playing in New York, Curry endured one of his toughest stretches of the 2023-24 season in terms of the deep ball. He had made fewer than 28 percent of his 3-point attempts (16 of 58).
The majority of NBA players would be completely satisfied with those type of numbers, but Curry has been so remarkable throughout his career that any hiccup in his shooting gets magnified.
Now the future Hall-of-Famer is looking a lot more like his old self, bombing and connecting on his deep shots. As long as he can keep it up, the Warriors have to like their chances as they head down the stretch.
Late arrival leads to slow start
The Warriors seemed out of sorts a little to start the game, and that wasn’t a complete surprise. They were delayed by about six hours flying out of New York and didn’t get to their hotel until past 8 a.m.
That lack of rest translated into another slow, sputtering start for Golden State.
One day after opening their win over the Knicks with a 14-0 run, the Warriors were sluggish out of the blocks in Toronto. Moody seemed OK, canning three of his first five shots, but the rest of the roster was out of sync.
Thompson and Kuminga were scoreless in the first quarter, shooting a combined 0-for-7. Curry was the only Warriors player besides Moody to make more than one shot in the opening 12 minutes.
Golden State also had a little trouble holding onto the ball, committing five of their 14 turnovers in the first quarter.
Is Klay better off the bench?
Thompson looked a little out of sync being back in the starting lineup, particularly early, after coming off the bench for the previous six games. The five-time All-Star was shut out in the first half, the only Golden State player to get shut down like he was. That led to him being a minus-7.
Before getting put back in with the starters to fill in for Podziemski, Thompson had settled into a very nice rhythm coming off the bench and had given the Warriors’ second unit a significant boost.
It was a completely different story in the second half. Thompson found his shooting touch in the third quarter when he was also very active on the boards.
Almost assuredly this won’t be the last start for Thompson. Other variables likely factored into his slow start, like the flight delay. But it’s possible that Thompson might have put some added pressure on himself being back with the starters, whereas he’s looked a lot more relaxed and comfortable with his game coming in as a back-up.
News
Test đẩy bài từ cms
Test đẩy bài từ cms, xóa sau khi dùng.
BREAKING: NFL Unanimously Votes In New Controversial Rule
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) The NFL seems to be destined to ban the hip-drop tackle this week. The league office wants to ban a certain type of hip-drop tackle. The NFLPA disagrees. The owners voted on it. On Monday, it was…
Everyone Noticed The Same Strange Thing About This Year’s NFL Coaches Photo
Fans had questions after five NFL head coaches missed out on the league’s annual photo this week. Most of the coaches are in Orlando, Florida at the moment as the NFL annual owners meeting is taking place there. So they came together…
5 Most Overrated NFL Free Agent Signings Of 2024 So Far…And 5 Most Underrated That Are Flying Under The Radar
Now that most of the top 2024 NFL free agents are off the board, it’s a good time to look at which highly-anticipated signings are bound to disappoint — and which under-the-radar moves will pay more dividends than you think. So with…
Ranking The Craziest NFL Free Agent Deals Of All-Time From WORST To FIRST
Free agency completely changes the landscape of professional sports. When a player’s contract is up—he can go to any team and drastically alter the balance of power in the league. The NFL is no different. All it takes is one crazy deal…
BREAKING: AFC Super Bowl Contender Has Officially Made A Contract Offer To Odell Beckham Jr.
The Miami Dolphins have some interest in veteran playmaker, Odell Beckham Jr. Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel spoke to reporters about the team’s early offseason at the NFL annual meeting Monday at the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes and informed everyone that the Dolphins and Odell Beckham Jr….
End of content
No more pages to load