It’s difficult to imagine anything removing the stench that lingered after the Golden State Warriors‘ jaw-dropping loss to the Utah Jazz earlier in the week. But Steph Curry and Co. somehow managed to do it with their effort on Saturday night.
Facing a Boston Celtics team that’s currently sitting atop the Eastern Conference after falling just short against the Dubs in the 2022 NBA Finals, the crew from the Bay somehow managed to turn in its most impressive win of the 2022-23 campaign.
“The game was connected,” Curry said, via ESPN. “When you’re locked in defensively and you worry about the things that impact the flow of the game and your matchup and the challenges there, you’re usually rewarded with looks and rhythm and flow on offense.”
And rewarded they were, as the Warriors reeled off 123 points on 51.1% shooting. Meanwhile, Steph and fellow Splash Bro Klay Thompson combined to score 66 points while nailing 10 triples.
While the win was sweet in and of itself, Curry is of the firm belief that it can pay dividends going forward, too.
Steph Believes the Dubs Have Found Their Blueprint
Although Curry was over the moon about beating down the Beantowners, he was clearly focused on what lies ahead in the wake of the win. Specifically, the Warriors’ centerpiece was resolute in his belief that the club can take what it did to the Cs and apply it to future bouts with the league’s elite.
“It just gives you the recipe on the intensity and focus you have to have to beat a team like that,” Curry said.
In addition to providing a blueprint for winning (surviving?) marquee matchups, Curry thinks that the Celtics win could help the Warriors as they brace for a six-game run away from the cozy confines of Chase Center before returning on Christmas Day.
“Knowing how hard it is to win on the road, we haven’t done it well at all this season… We want to feel good about ourselves getting on the plane… and figure out how to really take advantage of the opportunity in front of us.”
On December 13 and 14, the Warriors will go back-to-back with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Indiana Pacers. Those games will be followed with roadies against the Philadelphia 76ers (Dec. 16) and the Toronto Raptors (Dec. 18), after which they’ll finish with another back-to-back series with the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets (Dec. 20 and 21).
Wiseman Keeps It Rolling
Former No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman was back on the court for the Dubs’ G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, on Sunday. And much as he did during the team’s bout with the South Bay Lakers two nights earlier, the big man lit up the Oklahoma City Blue.
In 28 minutes of action at Kaiser Permanente Arena, Wiseman dropped 24 points on 11-of-13 shooting and added 16 rebounds, two assists and three blocked shots. Also: he committed just two fouls and logged a positive plus/minus score for the third-straight game (after being negative in each of his first games in Santa Cruz this season).
The Sea Dubs will take on South Bay once again in their next game on Wednesday, Dec. 14.
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