© Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports
It’s a win streak, folks. With a 119-101 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Warriors, who seemed hapless so recently, have now rattled off four-straight wins are back to .500 at 28-28.
Curry goes cold from deep, finally
The man was bound to miss at some point. Stephen Curry has been scoring at an absolutely torrid pace as of late and set an NBA record with 29 threes made over his previous three games. On the second night of a back-to-back, he finally cooled off a bit, at least from behind the arc, going 4-of-13, but heating up late.
It wasn’t until the late third quarter that Curry, who started 0-for-8 from three, made his first. And immediately after, he made his second in disrespectful and clutch fashion, dropping Matthew Dellavedova to the floor. It was a huge momentum boost for a Warriors team that was flailing through most of the third quarter; it was a four-point game until Curry hit his first, the team got a steal, and then he hit his second, to extend the lead to 10 in a matter of seconds.
That’s just mean pic.twitter.com/ug7gxnvTPO
— KNBR (@KNBR) April 16, 2021
It’s the least efficient Curry has been since the Warriors’ six-point loss to the Hawks on April 4, when Curry went 3-of-12 from three. Despite that cold start, Curry finished with 33 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks. It marked his ninth-straight game with 30-plus points, which was last done in the 1966-67 season by Rick Barry.
Thank goodness for Juan Toscano-Anderson
The fact that Juan Toscano-Anderson wasn’t a regular member of the rotation never made much sense. At worst, he’s a very long, athletic defender who can switch onto everyone with significant athleticism that makes him valuable in transition.
But when Toscano-Anderson’s at his best, it looks like it did on Thursday night, when, aside from cutting, screening and creating space within the offense for others, he took his own opportunities with ruthless efficiency.
As Curry struggled especially in that first half and the offense stagnated in the third quarter, Toscano-Anderson was there, and stellar.
He finished with 20 points on 8-of-9 from the field and 3-for-4 from three with 7 rebounds, 3 assists and one steal and block each. He was third on the team with a +21 plus-minus.
Everyone else provided, too
It really was a game which, despite Curry’s outburst in the late third quarter and the fourth, that he desperately needed help. His cohorts provided that on Thursday, and it didn’t just come from Toscano-Anderson.
Andrew Wiggins is looking more and more relaxed and confident, at one point beaming with Toscano-Anderson about a laughable failed lob attempt. He had 23 points on an efficient 9-of-16 shooting and 5-of-8 from three with 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
The other rocks were Kevon Looney, whose 8 points and 10 rebounds were invaluable, and reflected in his game-high +24 plus-minus. And both Jordan Poole (14 points on 5-of-12 shooting, 2-of-8 from three, 4 assists, 3 steals) and Damion Lee (11 points on 5-of-8 shooting, 1-of-4 from three, 5 rebounds, 1 steal) did their part to provide the necessary bench points.