The Golden State Warriors thought that Stephen Curry’s return on Tuesday night would help them keep their home-court advantage going. Their star came back. The best five-man lineup in the league was put together for the first time since December 3.
They played against a weak Phoenix Suns team. Instead, the Warriors lost to the Suns by a score of 125-113, which was the same score as when Curry got hurt.
Klay Thompson said, “When Steph and Andrew Wiggins came back, we probably let up a little more than we should have.” “We thought they’d show up and get the boot.” As shown, Curry and Wiggins have some dust to shake off.
After getting hurt on December 14, Curry wore a shooting sleeve from his shoulder to his wrist on his left arm. He said that he played well and didn’t think about his shoulder, which was important to get cleared to play.
Curry played for 31 minutes on Tuesday night, but he said that being limited to a certain number of minutes hurt his rhythm. On Friday, he said that he didn’t think his fitness had gone down while he was out of work.
He tried to play within the rules of the game while also feeling the pressure of needing to get back in shape quickly. Curry said, “It depends on how rusty you are and how close you can get to the speed of the game.” “It was fun to just run with our guys in the first quarter.
I got stronger because of the game. The fourth one was very hard. We could not wait to play again. I was there.” Curry scored 16 points in the fourth quarter. In 31 minutes, he made 8 of 22 shots from the floor and 5 of 15 from three.
Wiggins scored 10 points on 5-of-16 shooting in his second game back from an adductor strain and injury. He didn’t play as aggressively or as well as he usually does.
Thompson got 14 of his 29 points in the first quarter, but then he started to lose steam. In his first game off the bench since December 3, Jordan Poole scored 27 points. Curry made three 3-pointers in the last four minutes to get the team going again.
Three minutes later, a layup, a stop, a 3-pointer, and a stop by Poole cut the Warriors’ deficit from 27 to 6. After the timeout, Curry fouled Damion Lee, sending him to the line and giving the Suns a three-point lead. The game was lost on free throws.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, “I hope that fourth quarter was the team I have come to know, love, and appreciate.” “We have to prove ourselves in the first quarter, not the fourth.”
Curry said that the fourth quarter showed how well the Warriors pay attention, work as a team, are tough, and play high-IQ basketball, as well as what they need to do to win.
In the first three quarters, both the Warriors’ offence and defence had trouble. After a 10-0 first quarter, Phoenix had a 14–0 lead at the half. Without Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Deandre Ayton, Cameron Johnson, or Cameron Payne, the Warriors were 27 points behind the Suns.
Kerr said, “I have to do a better job of giving the Warriors the slap in the face that Phoenix gave us.” “The tone was set early on by Phoenix’s emotional edge. All done.”
Kerr and Thompson both said that this game should show the Warriors that no NBA game is easy, no matter how healthy the teams are or how few players the other team has.
Kerr suggested an alarm clock. “To win a title, you have to understand how much they care about each other and the game.” Kerr reminded the Warriors’ veterans, who have won many titles, as well as their younger and two-way players, that they didn’t play against Phoenix.
After their 41st game, which was the halfway point of the season, more reminders have come. After previous games, they’ve said that they’re not doing well enough.
Curry said, “We’ve been talking about it.” “It’s getting late, so do it. 41 games to find the answer. Unless.”
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