After losing the third quarter — something the Warriors seldom do — by 13, the Warriors needed a boost. And since Stephen Curry played the entire third, they’d need it with their superstar on the bench.
Then Warriors up 92-91, the shot clock ticking below one second and Andre Iguodala’s heel inches from the sideline, they got a little magic. Iguodala hucked up a prayer, and it was somehow answered.
Golden State absorbed Boston’s best punch. Iguodala’s 29-foot 3 finished a crucial five-minute run in which the Warriors outscored the Celtics without Curry, who checked in for the finishing kick.
Iguodala (12 points, 6 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks) gave the Warriors pivotal minutes in a game they were missing Jordan Poole due to health and safety protocol. Andrew Wiggins and Curry combined for 57 more, and the Warriors (24-5) held off the Celtics, 111-107 despite a season-low 14-point third quarter.
Here are three takeaways from the win:
Putting the record in the past
As clear as it was that the 3-point record was hanging over Curry’s head before he broke it in Madison Square Garden, it’s just as clear now that it’s a thing of the past. Curry made that clear just about instantly in Boston.
After his second 3-pointer, a step-back over Jaylen Brown, Curry screamed while jogging back. The Celtics called timeout, but nothing could stop Curry. Without the pressure of history, his swag was back.
Curry poured in 16 first-quarter points, including a 4-point play over Brown. He even pulled up for a 35-foot heat check, one of his two early misses.
The Celtics, even with six players in health and safety protocol, are well equipped to stick Curry on paper. Their stable of physical, long, defensive-minded wings includes Marcus Smart, Romeo Langford, Josh Richardson and Brown.
But when Curry’s rolling, none of that matters. Although he once again cooled off from deep (5-for-14), Curry finished with 30 points, including a clutch floater late in the fourth.
Genius ATOs
Curry is one of the best screeners in the NBA. He averages 1.5 screen assists per game — more than double the next-best Kyle Lowry among guards — and that doesn’t count buckets he creates indirectly from screens.
Weaponizing his screen-setting ability, and the gravity he brings with it, in an after-timeout play is genius. The Warriors do it consistently out of stoppages, including the beginning of games and out of halves.
But this play will, rightfully, garner more attention.
Just don’t let Gary Payton II’s insane 180 dunk or Andre Iguodala’s pinpoint lob pass distract you from the fact that Curry’s screen makes it all possible.
In the third quarter, after the Celtics ramped up their intensity and punched Golden State with a 10-3 scoring run, Kerr dialed up another beauty of an ATO. He again used Curry as a screener, but then ran him off a double screen. Curry ended up wide open for his fourth 3 of the game, and it slowed some Boston momentum.
Steve Kerr’s out-of-timeout plays, and his coaching in general, deserves serious acclaim. It’s fitting this was Kerr’s 400th win; he’s the fifth-fastest coach to reach that mark.
Andrew Wiggins is an All-Star
On a court with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Andrew Wiggins (27 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal) was the best wing for at least a half.
Friday’s truth would be practically unimaginable for the past three years. But Wiggins has been that solid this year and especially in the Boston Garden.
In just the first half, Wiggins dropped 24 points on 10-for-17 shooting. In that frame, Tatum and Brown combined for 17 points and six rebounds — as many as Wiggins.
The Warriors needed Wiggins to give them just a little more than usual offensively. Without Jordan Poole (health and safety protocol), Wiggins was charged with leading the second unit. He exceeded GSW’s wildest expectations, scoring 18 points in the second quarter alone.
The player Wiggins has become is so much different than the one from Minnesota. He takes what the defense gives him, doesn’t pound the ball in isolations and moves with purpose off the ball — all while competing consistently on defense. On the year, he’s averaging 18.4 points while shooting a career-high 41% from 3.
Tatum and Brown picked it up in the second half to lead a Boston surge, but Wiggins hung with them.
If the Warriors continue their first-place pace, they’ll earn three All-Star bids. Wiggins should join surefire representatives Curry and Green in Ohio for his first nod.
