© Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
It was bad, then good, then bad again. This Warriors team trailed by 19 points, then grew their own lead to 11, then lost it again. It was yet another sloppy game against the Washington Wizards, but the most stunning part of the contest was Stephen Curry going ice cold. This was a rare one where everyone but Curry seemed to play well, and he just couldn’t find it. Golden State lost 118-114 suffering a second late loss to the Wizards in as many weeks.
Curry’s streak ends unceremoniously
It had to end at some point, and boy did it ever. Stephen Curry’s streak of 11-straight games with 30-plus points ended in pretty shocking fashion. He was one of the Warriors’ worst players on Wednesday night, missing shots at an astounding rate, and turning the ball over six times.
He finished with 18 points on a woeful 7-of-25 and 2-of-14 from three night. He had 8 rebounds and 7 assists, but that won’t be much of a consolation prize.
When he had his chances in the late fourth quarter to regain the lead or take it back, he just didn’t have it. He came back late with a couple of late layups, but his shooting from range was just about nonexistent.
For a guy who was living in the stratosphere, this was a harsh crash back to the surface.
Wiggins plays great defense on Beal (again), struggles offensively
Whatever it is about Andrew Wiggins’ defense, Bradley Beal can’t seem to handle it. It’s been evident that Wiggins has improved tremendously this season, and it’s showed up most prominently on defense. The length, athleticism and approach has always been there, but whether it was a lack of prioritizing defense, a lack of know-how, or some other factor, those concerns have all but evaporated this year.
Wiggins has taken substantial strides defensively; he positions himself to force ball-handlers to their weak side, closes out quickly and usually without fouling, and gets enough leverage with his strength to guard post players. His activity in passing lanes with his 7-foot wingspan has helped make his presence felt constantly.
Beal has gotten the worst, or rather, best of that.
When the Warriors lost to Washington 110-107 on April 9, Beal came up clutch late, but he got the clamps for the overwhelmingly majority of that game. He finished with 20 points on 7-of-16 from the field and 1-of-5 from three; that was 10 less than his roughly league-high average of about 30 points per game on 48.4 percent shooting.
It happened again Thursday as Wiggins played Beal well. While he had 29 points (8-of-21, 2-of-6 from three), 11 of those were from the free throw line, with some very generous refereeing.
That’s what made his offensive performance so disappointing. He was way worse than Curry, and Curry, as mentioned, couldn’t hit much. Wiggins finished with 14 points on a brutal 5-of-20, 0-for-7 from three night. That could have all been forgiven if he didn’t choke in the final seconds, on what should have been a relatively easy game-tying layup. Instead, he and the Warriors botched it when it mattered.
I mean, sheesh.
it really is just unbelievable. i dont know how he’s done it for so long. pic.twitter.com/sJU53otBXa
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) April 22, 2021
All the bench guys did their part
The Warriors trailed by 19 points early in the first half, and then the bench unit, led by Kelly Oubre, brought it back. It was a really stunning game because the bench and the surrounding role players performed as well as they have all season and it didn’t matter because Curry and Wiggins were so wayward.
Against his former team and coming off the Bench, Oubre was darn near perfect, scoring 24 points on 8-of-17 shooting and 2-of-4 from three with 9 rebounds and a couple rebounds.
His scoring was matched by both Jordan Poole’ 22 (on 7-of-16, 6-of-10 from three with a pair of steals) and Kent Bazemore’s 19 (7-of-12, 4-of-6).
Poole had an insane heat check in the minutes before Curry returned, giving the Warriors an 11-point lead with about six minutes remaining. And Bazemore was at his best, chaotic self, finishing with a ridiculous 6 steals, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and a couple steals. You can’t really hope for much more from those guys.