What we learned when Steph’s return sparked Warriors’ win over Wizards originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
BOX SCORE
Stephen Curry had 24 points and six assists in his return to the lineup after a three-game injury absence, and the Warriors rolled past the Washington Wizards 125-112 on Monday night.
Buddy Hield scored 20 points, Draymond Green had another all-around game (18 points, eight rebounds, five assists) and Jonathan Kuminga added 15 points and six rebounds, Trayce Jackson-Davis had 12 points and Moses Moody had 10.
Golden State’s fourth straight victory lifted the Warriors’ record to 6-1, their best start to a season since winning 11 of their first 12 games to start the 2021-22 season.
It was also a milestone night for Steve Kerr, who coached his 800e regular season game, joining Al Attles as the only two men to reach that plateau with the Warriors.
Kerr has repeatedly praised the depth of this year’s Golden State team, and once again it worked out that way. The Warriors’ bench held a 50-33 scoring advantage at Capital One Arena, marking the sixth time in seven games that Golden State’s reserves have scored a 50 burger or more.
This marks the first time the Warriors bench has scored 50 or more six times in a seven-game span since starters were first tracked in 1970-71.
The only hiccup came early in the second half when Brandin Podziemski, who started the third quarter in Curry’s place, was taken to the locker room. Team officials later said Podziemski was not feeling well.
The Warriors led 54-45 at halftime after Curry sank a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. They pushed the lead to 12 heading into the fourth quarter and then held off a short Wizards surge to secure the win.
Former Warrior Jordan Poole scored 24 points for Washington.
These are the conclusions from Monday’s match:
The chef is back
As well as the Warriors played while Curry recovered from his ankle injury, their overall confidence and abilities improve dramatically when the two-time NBA MVP is on the court cooking.
Curry wasn’t exactly in top form – he missed four straight shots after opening the game with a three-pointer and ended up making seven of 15 shots – which wasn’t surprising after playing through three games. Still, he came back and had a big third quarter (15 points) and logged 24 minutes
The spacing and flow to Golden State’s offense was also much crisper. Since the Wizards had to respect Curry’s shooting, it opened up the inside game and the Warriors took full advantage as they scored 50 points in the paint.
Warriors fans got scared when Curry didn’t start the second half, but any fears they might have had quickly disappeared when he came back into the game five minutes into the third quarter and looked fine and immediately made a three-pointer in the open turned the corner.
Buddy buckets stand out
Golden State’s leading scorer and top 3-point shooter — no, not Curry — got off to a somewhat slow start before finding his form to lead the Warriors’ perimeter attack.
Hield, who entered the night ranked second in the NBA for his three-pointers, came out firing and scored eight points to pace the Warriors in the first half. He finished the night 7 of 14 and was plus-14.
While it’s still early, Hield has been everything the Warriors could have hoped for when they acquired him this offseason to fill the void left by Klay Thompson’s departure to Dallas.
Rough for Wiggs
Andrew Wiggins had a solid start to the season before sitting out two games with back problems. Since his return, the former No. 1 overall draft pick has really struggled with his shot.
Two days after missing six of nine shots in the Warriors’ win against the Houston Rockets, Wiggs couldn’t get any rhythm on offense. He missed his first seven shots and was scoreless in the first half, then finished 1 of 9 overall.
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