Getty Stephen Curry and Jordan Poole of the Golden State Warriors.
Jordan Poole impressed as a starter in the Golden State Warriors‘ 136-125 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. While filling in for Klay Thompson, who missed Tuesday’s matchup, Poole poured in 30 points on 8-of-19 shooting from the field and 5-of-12 from beyond the arc.
His backcourt partner for the game against OKC, Stephen Curry, sent some praise Poole’s way after the victory.
“He’s obviously extremely talented and he can create off the dribble, he’s super fast in transition,” Curry said via NBC Sports Bay Area. “And we kind of read the gameplan from them. [Luguentz] Dort was just going to stay on me the whole time and not help. It just gives JP space, lets him go to work, he had some big threes, got to the bucket, got to the free-throw line.”
JP stepped up in the fourth quarter while Dort was locked on to Steph
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The amount of attention Curry was getting from the Thunder defense down the stretch allowed Poole to go off in the fourth quarter. The 23-year-old poured in 18 of his 30 points in the final frame, helping the Dubs outscore OKC 34-19 over the last 12 minutes of the April 4 meeting.
Stephen Curry Shouts Out Moses Moody After Warriors Win
Poole wasn’t the only young Warriors guard that Curry shouted out after the win over the Thunder. The 35-year-old superstar took some time to praise Moses Moody for his strong showing off of Golden State’s bench.
“It’s just a matter of being ready [and] staying ready,” Curry said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “They’ve been asked to play a lot of different roles. Been in and out of the rotation. JK’s [Kuminga] obviously played a lot more recently and has proven that he’s taking that next step. It’s still [about] trying to put game after game together, and those guys, to be able to show up when we’re still missing wings [and] Klay [Thompson] goes down, they stay ready. For Mo [Moody], though, I think he saw enough Razorbacks out there. He felt like he was back in college for a little bit.”
Moody totaled 13 points in 26 minutes as a reserve on Tuesday. He knocked down 5-of-7 attempts from the floor, and 3-of-5 from deep.
Jordan Poole Welcomes Andrew Wiggins Back to Warriors
As for Poole, he made sure to show some love to Andrew Wiggins, who made his return to the Warriors bench for the matchup at Chase Center.
“I’m glad he took the time that he needed,” Poole said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “We’re welcoming him back with open arms. Really excite. Good energy. Positive energy to have him back. He just is such a bright light and has such an amazing spirit. It’s just dope to be around him, and it’s definitely good to have him back in the locker room.”
Wiggins had previously been away from the Warriors for nearly two months, last appearing in the team’s February 13 meeting with the Washington Wizards.
According to “The Athletic’s” Shams Charania, the Canadian forward took some time away from the Dubs to be alongside his father, who had been battling a serious medical condition.
Golden State’s Andrew Wiggins plans to attend Warriors-Thunder on Tuesday. The reason for Wiggins’ leave of absence since mid-February is that his father, Mitchell Wiggins, has been dealing with a serious medical situation, sources close to the situation say. 🙏🏽