The Warriors supporting cast helps Steph to a well-rounded win against the 76ers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – Stephen Curry remains the torchbearer for the Warriors’ offense. Throughout his magnificent NBA career, the two-time NBA MVP has done this many times while essentially carrying the burden alone.
Against the Philadelphia 76ers, Curry started again and got a lot of help in a balanced display that coach Steve Kerr had hoped for.
While Curry put together another stellar night with 30 points and 10 assists, he got plenty of support from his supporting cast who repeatedly came up big and paved the way as Golden State waxed the Philadelphia 76ers 139-105 on Thursday at Chase Center.
Much of that came from the usual suspects like Jonathan Kuminga (20 points), Draymond Green (15 points, seven assists) and Andrew Wiggins (15 points), but the Dubs also got significant collective effort from Dennis Schroder (15 points, six assists) . assists), Lindy Waters III (10 points) and Moses Moody (12 points) in what was one of Golden State’s best-rounded games of the season. Waters and Moody shot a combined 6-for-9 from behind the arc.
Coming off an 18-point loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this week, this was exactly the kind of rebound the Warriors needed after a dismal 4-7 record in December.
Curry pointed to the Warriors’ season-high 41 assists as an example of how the game went for Golden State.
“(That’s) indicative of good ball movement or good organization, taking care of possessions, finding the open man,” Curry said. “My play was indicative of how we all played, and it was a beautiful brand of basketball. It seemed like everyone who stepped foot on the ground was convinced of what they were trying to do.
Philadelphia entered the game with plans to at least slow Curry down. They packed the paint early and tried to limit his shots. When the Warriors’ other players started connecting, the 76ers had to change their plans.
“They had to stop being as aggressive as they were against him to start the game,” Draymond Green said. “It loosens them up a bit and then he can do what he does. We all have to make sure we stay as aggressive with that mentality so we can make it easier for him.
“We make it easier for him, he obviously makes everything easier for the rest.”
It wasn’t just the all-around scoring that Golden State excelled at.
Before the game, coach Steve Kerr talked about the need for his players to better defend the three-point shot, and the Warriors did just that.
The 76ers shot just 9 of 31 (29 percent) from behind the arc, while the Warriors made 22 of 39 shots from distance, their most shots since hitting a season-high 27 3s against the Dallas Mavericks on December 15.
“I really needed it,” Kerr said, referring to the entire game. “Great evening for the whole team. It was a very well executed offensive game. And we caught them back-to-back, which helped, but our defense was solid. A great start to the match and there were no setbacks.”
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