The Warriors began a four-game road trip with a win over the lowly Washington Wizards. The 123-112 win continues Golden State's hot streak, especially on the road.
Here are three takeaways from the ugly win.
Klay gets going in the third, Steph quiet
The Warriors kept the Wizards at arm's distance for most of the game until the third quarter, when Klay Thompson went scorched earth.
Thompson had 25 points (9-of-15, 6-of-11 from 3-pt) in his first 24 minutes, with 13 of those coming in the final five minutes of the third.
Those points were necessary because Stephen Curry just didn't quite have it Tuesday night.
Before the six-minute mark in the fourth, Curry had just 8 points and was 2-of-14 and 2-of-12 from deep. He managed to pull it together in the fourth to finish with 18 points (6-of-21, 4-of-16 from 3-pt), 5 rebounds, 6 assists, a steal and a block.
But this is back-to-back games Curry has been off, ahead of a matchup with a tough Knicks team. Logic aside, you have to like the thought of Curry getting back on track in Madison Square Garden, the arena in which he replanted himself on the national stage in a 54-point outing more than a decade ago.
Chris Paul's return, and no more road woes
For the first time in five years, the Warriors have won six-straight road games. Given their woes in that regard last season, that is a monumental cause for optimism.
Who knows whether this team will actually compete for a title or accomplish anything meaningful this postseason. They are probably too undersized to beat a team like Denver, but that story will be told in due time. What is evident in this moment is that they are winning, and are proving themselves capable of winning on the road.
They did so without Andrew Wiggins (absent for personal reasons), but with Chris Paul back in the lineup for the first time in nearly two months.
Paul, for his part, was excellent. He was a second-best +17 in his 22 minutes on the floor, and provided a sense of security to a frequently chaotic second unit.
He buoyed that group with 9 points (3-of-6, 3-of-5 from 3-pt), 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. It still remains unclear how the 49ers will navigate utilizing him and the rest of their pieces when and if they get to full strength, but his return was a welcome one Tuesday night.
The Wizards, man
Maybe it's in poor taste to rip on a team that is objectively bad. But it is hard not to savor in the putridity that is the Washington Wizards.
It's an all-time, "name more than 5 players on the Wizards" roster. Even if you watched the game you might struggle with that exercise.
But it's not just that it's a random roster of pieces that don't fit with each other. It's that the vibes are so chaotic, so grotesque, you almost can't look away. It's like watching your cousin play NBA 2K and spam dribble moves before launching a fading, 30-footer.
You knew when Jordan Poole teamed up with Kyle Kuzma there was going to be a whole lot of chucking, and a whole lot of losing. They have one more win than a Detroit Pistons team which lost 29-straight games earlier this year, then lost seven-straight games after breaking the skid.
And yet the Warriors didn't put the game away. They were awful in the fourth quarter. They actually gave the Wizards every chance to close the gap at least to single digits.
There is no long-term takeaway from this game. This is just a statement to saw the Wizards are abysmal. The Warriors tried to play down to their level and still won by double digits.
Most Popular
Comments / 0