OAKLAND–Draymond Green had the lane.
The road was open and there were no tolls in sight. It was a green light, give-it-to-me dunk opportunity he had to hit. And Green passed.
Shoot your shot, they say.
Late in the fourth quarter, Green took off down the court and embarked on a two-on-one fastbreak that should end in a Warriors’ bucket 100 percent of the time. His partner on the break was Steph Curry, and his defender was eyeing down a near-death experience.
And somehow, Golden State threw it all away. Instead of driving in for the easy two, Green dished out to Curry who missed an easy three-pointer that led to a Nuggets’ three on the other end of the floor.
Did Curry expect the pass from Green? And did the open floor add to the pressure of his shot?
“All of the above,” Curry answered, when he was asked after the Warriors’ 124-114 win over the Nuggets. “I told him after that possession, I messed him up because I was real thirsty on that possession and I put my hands up looking for the ball for no reason because he had a wide open layup and I forget who was defending that possession but they were kind of right in between. Didn’t really commit to Draymond, didn’t really commit to me, and so once he saw my hands go up, he knew I made a couple of shots before and that planted the seed and it was all a disaster from there.”
Steve Kerr's reaction at the end of this video is PERFECT pic.twitter.com/JM0vHGaptU
— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) January 9, 2018
It was all fun and games for the Warriors after their fifth straight win, but Curry was clearly disappointed in himself after not converting on a shot that could have buried Denver for good.
“I’ve got to do my part,” Curry said. “If he’s going to trust me that much to shoot a terrible shot like that I’ve got to make it. Really, that’s all on me. We’re not talking about it if I make it.”
As for Green, the Warriors’ forward finished with 23 points, 10 assists and five rebounds in another dominant effort. He could have had an 11th assist, though, and after the game, he made sure to throw a jab at his sharpshooting teammate.
“Pretty upset he didn’t hit the three when I threw a wide open layup away, but it’s okay,” Green joked.