What we learned as Steph’s return ignites Warriors’ win vs. Wizards originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Stephen Curry had 24 points and six assists in his return to the lineup after a three-game injury absence, and the Warriors rolled past the Washington Wizards 125-112 on Monday night.
Buddy Hield scored 20 points, Draymond Green had another all-around game (18 points, eight rebounds, five assists) and Jonathan Kuminga added 15 points and six rebounds, Trayce Jackson-Davis had 12 points and Moses Moody had 10.
Golden State’s fourth consecutive win upped the Warriors’ record to 6-1, their best start to a season since winning 11 of their first 12 games to begin the 2021-22 campaign.
It was also a milestone night for Steve Kerr, who coached his 800th regular season game, joining Al Attles as the only two men to reach that plateau with the Warriors.
Kerr has repeatedly lauded the depth of this year’s Golden State team, and it played out that way again. The Warriors’ bench held a 50-33 scoring advantage at Capital One Arena, marking the sixth time in seven games that Golden State’s reserves have put up a 50 burger or more.
This is the first time the Warriors’ bench has scored 50 or more six times in a seven-game span since starters were first tracked in 1970-71.
The only downside came early in the second half when Brandin Podziemski, who started the third quarter in place of Curry, was taken to the locker room. Team officials later said that Podziemski was not feeling well.
The Warriors led 54-45 at halftime after Curry sank a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. They pushed the advantage to 12 heading into the fourth quarter then held off a brief Wizards surge to secure the victory.
Former Warrior Jordan Poole scored 24 points for Washington.
Here are the takeaways from Monday’s game:
The Chef Is Back
No matter how well the Warriors played while Curry recovered from his ankle injury, their overall confidence and capabilities improve dramatically whenever the two-time NBA MVP is on the court cooking.
Curry wasn’t exactly in prime form – he missed four consecutive shots after opening the game with a 3-pointer and finished shooting 7 of 15 – which wasn’t surprising after sitting out three games. Yet he came back and had a big third quarter (15 points) and logged 24 minutes
The spacing and the flow to Golden State’s offense was a lot more crisp, too. Because the Wizards had to respect Curry’s shooting, it opened up the inside game and the Warriors took full advantage while scoring 50 points in the paint.
Warriors fans got a scare when Curry didn’t start the second half but any fears they might have had quickly left when he checked back into the game five minutes into the third quarter looking just fine, immediately knocking down an open corner 3-pointer.
Buddy Buckets Balling Out
Golden State’s leading scorer and top 3-point shooter – no, not Curry – got off to a little slow start before finding his form to lead the Warriors’ perimeter assault.
Hield, who entered the night second in the NBA for made 3-pointers, came out firing and scored eight points to pace the Warriors in the first half. He finished the night shooting 7 of 14 and was plus-14.
Although it’s still somewhat early, Hield has been everything that the Warriors had hoped for and then some when they acquired him the offseason to fill the sperimeter shooting void left by Klay Thompson’s departure to Dallas.
Rough One For Wiggs
Andrew Wiggins was off to a solid start to the season before sitting out two games with a back strain. Since coming back, the former No. 1 overall draft pick has really struggled with his shot.
Two days after missing six of nine shots in the Warriors’ overtime win against the Houston Rockets, Wiggs couldn’t get into any kind of a rhythm on offense. He missed his first seven shots and was scoreless in the first half, then finished 1 of 9 overall.
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