Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson entered the fourth quarter with 12 combined points, shooting 4-for-23 from the floor. Their team clung to a two-point lead — an expected result given their poor shooting.
The Nets, without Kevin Durant (knee) and James Harden (hand), out-toughed and out-shot the Warriors to claw back from a deficit as large as 19. But the Splash Bros emerged from hibernation just enough to hold off the Nets, scoring 23 of the Warriors’ 32 fourth-quarter points — including Thompson’s clutch 3 with 12.1 seconds left and foul shots thereafter.
The Warriors (37-13) held off Brooklyn for their fifth straight win and sixth of their seven-game home stand, 110-106. Even with Thompson and Curry’s C-games, Golden State withstood a magnificent 32-point night from Kyrie Irving and closed out the Nets late.
Here are three takeaways from Golden State’s skin-of-their-teeth win.
All-Star Wiggs
For the first 12 minutes of action, Andrew Wiggins (team-high 24 points) was the best player on the court. A court that — while it was bereft of Kevin Durant and James Harden — included Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson.
As Thompson and Curry struggled (they shot a combined 4-for-23 entering the fourth quarter), Wiggins surged. He drilled catch-and-shoot 3s and worked outside-in to balance his game.
In the first quarter alone, Wiggins recorded 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks. He swatted Irving at the rim and slammed home a missed Jordan Poole 3.
His lone bucket of the second quarter was a step-back 3 over Kyrie Irving to give Golden State a three-point lead. Then he canned another step-back triple over Nic Claxton to start the second half. Later, Wiggins faded away from a double team in the mid-post for his 10th bucket.
Flashes of brilliance have defined Wiggins’ nine-year career so far. He’s bottled up enough of those bursts this season to earn an All-Star nod, and enough on Saturday to buy time for the Splash Bros to wake up.
The Cornerstone
Stephen Curry appeared in his 808th regular season game Saturday, breaking the Warriors’ franchise record, previously held by Chris Mullin.
Curry is a rare breed of superstar — in any team sport but especially the NBA —who has stayed with one franchise for his entire career (at least so far). Damian Lillard is second in games played for one organization among active players, at 711 games.
“Steph has done everything, there’s so many records that they run into each other,” Steve Kerr said pregame.
“I love that particular record just because it signifies his loyalty to the franchise and vice versa. The love affair that exists between Steph and the Bay is pretty unique. You don’t see this an awful lot. You think of Reggie Miller in Indiana, Larry Bird in Boston, Kobe in LA. Tim Duncan and Manu (Ginobili) in San Antonio. It’s pretty special, and I know we take great pride in our organization in Steph and I think he takes a lot of pride in representing us and the Bay Area. That record is just kind of a reminder of how lucky we are to have him as the cornerstone of the franchise.”
One hour before tipoff, fans filled seats three rows deep on the sideline opposite GSW’s bench to watch Curry warm up. His pregame routine isn’t quite the spectacle it was five or six years ago, but he’s still a must-watch any time he touches a ball and flings it toward a hoop.
On Saturday, Curry’s pregame work was the best show he gave fans until the fourth quarter. Then, when GSW needed, Curry hit two step-back 3s plus an and-1.
Curry’s in his 13th season with Golden State. Tom Brady, who is reportedly, maybe, probably retiring, spent 20 years with the New England Patriots. The speculation around his retirement proves the reality that one day, your favorite athlete will hang it up. The day will come. So cherish Curry’s excellence while you can.
Defending Kyrie
The Warriors stuck Andrew Wiggins on Kyrie Irving as much as possible. As Wiggins torched Brooklyn on the offensive end, he largely shut down their best scorer, too.
Golden State was also fine with switching Thompson onto Irving in ball screens. Thompson, even after 941 days away from basketball, held up surprisingly well against the shifty guard.
When Nic Claxton — Kevon Looney’s man — set a ball screen for Irving, Looney and Irving’s defender set a hard trap on Irving. This was one of the most effective tactics; with Durant and Harden out, Irving didn’t have a reliable outlet to save him. He committed multiple turnovers, particularly along the baseline, in double-teams.
Where Irving found success was in isolation against Stephen Curry and defenders other than Wiggins and Thomspon (though Gary Payton II made him work in the fourth quarter). Twice in the first quarter, Irving sized up Curry on the right wing — where he hit his iconic 2016 NBA Finals 3 — and beat him off the dribble baseline. He did the same to rookie Jonathan Kuminga and also converted a four-point play against Jordan Poole.
Brooklyn sought the Irving-Curry matchup in the fourth, but whenever Curry jumped out in a switch, GSW sent an extra defender his way to double. They made Irving work all game, then forced it out of his hands late.
Including with his off-balance 3-pointer with nine seconds left, Irving scored 32 points. He added seven rebounds and seven assists, but Golden State made him work for everything, particularly late in the game.
If the Warriors and Nets meet again, it would be in the NBA Finals. Then, Harden and Durant would almost surely be in the lineup, and the Warriors may not have the option of tilting their defensive scheme so aggressively toward Irving.