[ad_1]
SAN FRANCISCO – Stephen Curry’s mouthpiece-tossing rage has vanished into thin air, replaced by one of the dumbest smiles of all time.
You might say it’s because of the winning grin on Curry’s face right after the Warriors wiped out a 10-point deficit in the final six minutes of Wednesday night, beating rivals Memphis Grizzlies 122-120.
Curry stood in the hallway outside the Warriors’ locker room, which had been kicked out minutes earlier, watching his teammates walk by. He claps with security chief Yusef Wright and teammate and friend Andre Iguodala.
And finally, Jordan Poole, who was the source of Curry’s anger for an ignorant shot that led to his ejection, came close to the team’s touchstone. Curry was grinning. Poole grinned. Poole then threw a mouthpiece and he was sent off with 1:14 remaining with Curry remaining, mimicking the gesture the Warriors made as they clung to his 2-point lead.
Callie’s smile turned into outright laughter, and he and Poole clapped their palms together and hugged.
“That’s it,” Curry said of JP’s toss.
This is one of the meaningful moments for the team. Poole got under the skin of Curry and his coaches and teammates when he hit a 29-foot shot when his clock was at 13 and he had 1:14 left in the game. rice field. JP then made amends by going free on the inbounds play and dropping a layup with one second remaining.
Game over. The same teammate that pissed Curry off made him happy.
“Seeing everyone pick themselves up and finish the job? There was a lot of celebration in the tunnel,” Curry said.
“We hugged a little bit,” Poole said. “Obviously he’s our leader and I’d love to play with him in his last three games, but we’ll find a way to pull it off and go against a really good team. It was a big win for us and we have to keep the momentum going.”
Curry and Poole’s dynamic is alternately painful and beautiful. Both are great talented point guards and can play effectively off-the-ball. Both are prone to transfer. Both have glorious overconfidence, but JP’s confidence flashes neon, and Steph has built a Hall of Fame career by using humility as a cover to try and annihilate all her opponents.
Truth be told, JP is the 23-year-old heir to 34-year-old Steph and, all things considered, the greatest warrior of all time. His shoes are so big, and in the meantime, it’s imperative that Callie and Poole find a way to not only coexist, but also share prosperity.
Like they did in Q4. Poole was plus 13 in the quarter as he scored 13 points on his 5/7 shooting, including his 1/3 from deep. Curry lasted only six minutes before being tossed, but he didn’t miss a shot and scored 10 points, plus eight.
“This win was desperately needed,” Curry said. “Not just because it’s the story of Memphis and all there is, but it’s how we play. Trying to build and JP came out of the gate in Q4 and hit some big shots and he gave us energy and I came in and where he left off I tried to start with
Not surprisingly, when Curry left, the already heightened anxiety levels within Chase soared. That put Klay Thompson and Poole in the spotlight. Who are the Warriors going to?
Well, both. Thompson padded the triple with his 14.6 seconds left to give Golden State his two-point lead. The Grizzlies responded with Ja Morant driving into the lane and giving Brandon Clarke the game-tying lob with 6.3 seconds remaining.
RELATED: Curry Explains Emotional Throw on Victory Mouthpiece
Poole got out of Ziaile Williams, grabbed Donte DiVincenzo’s inbounds pass and put the ball into the basket.
Joy filled the room. Coach Steve Kerr pardoned both players for an inappropriate pool shot and Curry’s mouthpiece-throwing reaction.
“It’s fine,” he said with a shy smile. “We won. We won. Let’s focus on the positives.”
That’s right. All’s Well That Ends Well.
Download and follow the Dubs Talk podcast
[ad_2]
Source link
