Even with Stephen Curry sidelined with a shoulder injury and Andrew Wiggins out as well, the Warriors put together a complete, sustained offensive performance on the road.
The Warriors scored at least 30 points in each of the first three quarters, building a cushy lead to enjoy in the fourth. Golden State shot 46.2% from deep and assisted on 31 of 43 field goals.
In the 126-110 victory, Jordan Poole led the charge by dropping a career-high 43 points. The Warriors (14-16) have now won three of 17 games away from the Chase Center.
Here are three takeaways from Golden State’s win.
Jordan Poole stepping up
In the first game after Stephen Curry’s shoulder injury, Poole kept the Warriors competitive in Philadelphia. He went 10-for-20 with 29 points and added four assists.
He was even better north of the border.
Against Toronto, Poole attacked relentlessly. He sprinted off the ball, operating at a different gear than even the uber-athletic Raptors. In the paint, he was undaunted by Toronto’s length, using his array of finishing moves to score.
It all added up to Poole’s fifth 30-point game of the season. And a brilliantly efficient one at that.
His 3-pointer off a split action play early in the fourth quarter gave him a new career-high of 39 points. He added two more in transition with a nifty hesitation dribble and then a pair more at the line.
Poole finished with 43 points on 14-for-23 shooting, plus six assists in 35 minutes. It may have been his sharpest performance of his young career.
Nobody can replace Stephen Curry. But for the Warriors to have a chance to compete without their superstar point guard, Poole will have to elevate his game — like he did to a superhuman level on Sunday — on a nightly basis.
Jumbo Toronto
The Raptors assembled their roster around size, length and athleticism. Pascal Siakam, Scottie Barnes, and O.G. Anunoby (who didn’t play Sunday) are each dynamic, long wings without the most refined offensive games. Most of Toronto’s rotation outside of Fred VanVleet is at least 6-foot-7.
They struggle to score in the halfcourt, but try to equalize that by gaming the possession battle — forcing turnovers and creating second chances on the glass.
Never was that ethos more apparent with about eight minutes left in the second quarter.
A turnover right off a miss, then four consecutive offensive rebounds, allowed Toronto to have a five-shot possession. Each attempt was a clean, high-percentage look. None of them dropped.
To try to limit the Raptors’ advantage, the Warriors tried mixing in a zone — a logical move. They tried swarming Raptors bigs if they brought the ball down after offensive boards. They seemed to play a bit bigger than usual, keeping Green and Kevon Looney together or matching one of them with both Anthony Lamb and Jonathan Kuminga.
As the game went on, Toronto’s length was felt less and less. Golden State competed for every rebound and baited the Raptors into taking 3s. Toronto used its length to play the passing lanes, but the Warriors mostly limited their turnovers.
The turnover and rebounding battles were virtually even. Toronto outscored the Warriors in the paint, but not by a significant margin. The Warriors held their own.
Draymond Green, looking to score
Draymond Green started Sunday’s game with one of his strongest offensive quarters of the season. He racked up 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting. He took open looks and displayed great chemistry with Jordan Poole in the two-man game.
Green sank his first three 3-pointers, adding some spacing to an offense suddenly without Stephen Curry. Any shooting the Warriors can find without their engine, be it from Green or otherwise, is crucial.
As The Mercury News’ Madeline Kenney pointed out, the Warriors are 48-6 all time when Green makes at least three 3s. That might be more correlation than causation, but a trend no less; when Green is playing well offensively, that’s good news for Golden State.
The aggression, though, was fleeting. With Green, it comes and goes. One play, he passed up an open layup to kick out to a shooter, only there was nobody near where he anticipated.
The extracurricular stuff with Green is never going to be normal. There are going to be dust-ups with fans. Technical fouls. Strange interviews. That’s all on top of the preseason punch.
But at this point, that’s all part of the package with Green. And as long as he can produce to his capabilities, the Warriors will always, without question, take that bargain.