Getty Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors pulls up to shoot a three point shot while defended by Dillon Brooks #9 of the Houston Rockets.
Stephen Curry talked trash with Dillon Brooks before he cooked him in the second half of the Golden State Warriors‘ 106-95 victory over the winless Houston Rockets on Sunday night.
“I’ll show you what I can do… I still remember what you said,” Curry allegedly told Brooks before sinking his fourth 3-pointer in the fourth quarter.
LEAKED Audio Of Steph Curry Trash Talking Dillon Brooks Before Cooking Him👀:
“I’ll show you what I can do… I still remember what you said”
Curry’s avalanche of 3-pointers turned a precarious 88-87 Warriors lead into a 100-89 bulge with 3:19 left. The Warriors ground the Rockets the rest of the way.
Curry finished with 24 points, 14 in the decisive fourth quarter. All of his six made field goals came from beyond the arc. With Chris Paul relegated to the bench for the first time in 19 NBA seasons, Curry issued a season-high six assists on top of seven rebounds as he regained his point guard role in the starting unit.
“I like to have fun out here especially fourth quarter when it’s winning time,” Curry said during his postgame interview with the NBC Sports Bay Area crew after the win.
Chris Paul Embraces Sixth Man Role
Paul’s record streak of 1,365 consecutive games as a starter ended Sunday night. But his impact off the bench was profound for the Warriors.
The 38-year-old point guard was a game-high plus-22 as he organized the Warriors bench, which exploded for 41 points against the Rockets’ 21.
Paul finished with eight points, five rebounds and seven assists against only one turnover in 27 minutes off the bench.
“It’s massive,” Kerr said of Paul’s performance after the game. “It’s massive the way Chris has embraced everything here in the first month since he’s been with us. As you know, tonight was the first game of his entire career he didn’t start. And when I talked to him this morning about it, he’s just, like, nodded his head and said, ‘Let’s go get them.’ It’s like not even a big deal.”
Kerr compared Paul’s situation with Andre Iguodala, who also embraced a Sixth Man role in 2014. Iguodala ended as the NBA Finals MVP of the Warriors’ first championship run during that 2014-15 season.
“So, I think it’s similar to Andre [Iguodala] all those years ago. When a vet, a great player, an All-Star shows that kind of sacrifice, he just sets the tone for the whole team. And so the vibe is great on our team and Chris is one of the main reasons for that,” Kerr said.
NBA Analyst Views Warriors as a Play-in Team
Despite Paul’s addition, former basketball player-turned-ESPN analyst Jay Williams.
“The Golden State Warriors will be in the play-in tournament,” Williams said on the “First Take” via NBC Sports. “We all agree that Stephen Curry has to be the Finals MVP for this team to win a championship, correct? He’s turning 36 years old in March.”
“The only player 36 years and older to win a Finals MVP is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Their age, they’re on the wrong side of age. Median age in your prime is 28 years old. Klay [Thompson] and Draymond [Green], 33 years old, turning 34. Also, you talk about [Chris Paul], 38 years old. That’s a big thing for them, age. Age is a major thing,” Williams continued.
For Williams, the Warriors’ aging core and lack of depth will be their undoing this season.