Getty Stephen Curry and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors have a very important stretch ahead of them. If they want to secure their spot in the playoffs and make some noise, they can’t afford to mess around. With how inconsistent they’ve been, there’s never been a better time to start getting into a rhythm.
On Tuesday night, they took down the New Orleans Pelicans, coming back from a 20-point deficit. Draymond Green provided the Warriors with a huge spark thanks to his incredible energy, and after the game, Stephen Curry showed love to his long-time teammate.
“It just brings out that competitive fire that we have demonstrated for a decade now, and just understanding what it takes to will yourself out of a tough situation,” Curry said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “I think I heard him [Green] say, ‘Not a lot of people can talk when they’re down 20.’ But it’s built off of a belief and an understanding of who we are at our best. That kind of competitive will that we’ve had. We’ve been in a lot of different situations over the course of these years, and for whatever reason, no matter how bad we’ve played, and how inconsistent we’ve been, we can pull off a night like tonight. So, he’s well aware of that and has a feel for- when it was a little sleepy in the first half, he got us going.”
Green put up solid stats against the Pelicans to go along with his intense playstyle. He finished the night with eight points, 13 rebounds, two assists, and two steals on 4-of-5 shooting from the field.
As for Curry, he was incredible against New Orleans. The Warriors superstar ended the game with 39 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and three steals on 14-of-25 shooting from the floor and 8-of-15 shooting from behind the three-point line.
Steve Kerr Sounds Off on Draymond Green
Meanwhile, head coach Steve Kerr also had some nice things about Green.
“Draymond willed us to victory tonight,” Kerr said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “I mean, his intensity, his frustration early with the way we were playing. Mad at the world. Yelling at everybody – their bench, our bench, [and] me. And frankly, we all deserved it. That first half was as poor a half as we’ve played all year, and we weren’t engaged, and that’s what makes Draymond special. It’s not just the amazing basketball IQ and defense and playmaking, but it’s just his sheer will. And he was the key tonight.”
Draymond Green Calls Out CJ McCollum
In addition, after the game, Green had some words for Pelicans guard CJ McCollum. Green committed a hard foul early in the game, and McCollum took some exception to it. They had words, and Green spoke about the interaction post-game.
“He started talking about the foul,” Green said of McCollum via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “But I got a lot of respect for CJ. He’s a guy who’s been good in his league for a long time, but that’s my type of situation. I enjoy that. So, I appreciate him. It’s good.”