HOUSTON — Kevin Porter Jr. was in Steph Curry’s ear, hanging over him between the action as the Rockets crept closer into a slim Warriors lead with third quarter winding down.
Maybe Porter Jr. thought he was suffocating Curry — the Warriors superstar is mired in one of the worst shooting slumps of his career and looked well on his way to another poor shooting night. Instead, those chirps woke the beast.
“Whatever gas has to go in the tank to get you out of a certain kind of low point,” Curry said, “I’ll take it.”
Curry answered with a pull-up three from 26 feet out. Soon Curry was in a flurry, putting up his first-career 20-plus-point fourth quarter that helped the Golden State Warriors bury the Houston Rockets, 122-108, on Monday night at Toyota Center.
Curry finished the night with 40 points on seven three pointers, the most he’s hit since he collected eight against the Memphis Grizzlies before Christmas.
It was the kind of performance Curry’s teammates never doubted was far out of reach — despite Curry shooting a career-worst 38% from three this season leading up to Monday’s game. Once the wall is down, Curry can go nuclear within a moment. Monday night, a few words helped tick him off.
“I respect guys who say things with their chest. I respect guys who stand on their own two feet and Kevin Porter seems like one of those guys,” Juan Toscano-Anderson said. “You got to know what you’re stepping into. You have to know once you cross the line what Steph is going to do… Steph going to Steph.”
A spectacular fourth quarter coincided with an aggressive second half for Curry, who took the offense in his own hands. While the Warriors offense typically functions with Curry operating off-ball — a scheme that works best when Draymond Green is on the court with him as a passer — he went one-on-one against the Rockets and created for himself.
“Our offense isn’t iso-heavy, it’s about getting ball moving and setting screens for each other to find the open look,” Curry said, asked how he discerns moments to find his own spots or create for others. “That makes it a little easier, because it’s a natural flow of the offense. Down the stretch of the game, if you got it going, you start to call a couple sets to get you into that playmaking position. We have the ability to switch it up from time to time.”
Earlier Monday, head coach Steve Kerr told Curry that he’d never worked with a player he hesitated to discuss shot selection with. The understanding is that Curry has no problem figuring out how to create for himself, and everyone else. During this slump, the reward is sweeter with patience.
“You always feel like the next shot is going to start the vibe like that,” Curry said. “Obviously, it’s no secret how I’ve been shooting the ball recently. But the confidence is always like, it takes just one to ignite a night like that in the fourth quarter.”
Andrew Wiggins keeps it steady with Curry
While Curry brought the house down in the second half, his playmaking kept the Warriors afloat in a gritty first half.
Curry played facilitator in the first half and wound up with nine assists to finish the game. Since Green was sidelined with a back injury on Jan. 9, Curry is averaging seven assists per game and fewer shots — 18.3 shots per game over the last three weeks compared to the 20.3 he took prior to.
Wiggins was one of a handful that benefited from Curry’s playmaking. With the game in the balance, Wiggins led the team at the half with 17 points. The All-Star starter finished with 23 points going 3-of-5 from beyond the arc to help the Warriors keep pace with a scrappy and athletic Rockets team.
“Wiggs, he’s a machine,” Kerr said. “Night in, night out he scores. He defends. I thought his activity defensively down the stretch was huge. He came down the weakside several times and made great contests. Forced missed shots. Looney was cleaning everything up, as usual.”
Against big Christian Wood
Fighting back was Houston center Christian Wood, who took advantage of the Warriors’ lack of size with a 24-point game. Golden State entered the game with just Kevon Looney and Jonathan Kuminga as the only line of defense against 6-foot-10 Wood.
Wood found his points all over the key, shooting 5-for-9 from three and driving to the rim plenty for the rest. Wood and the Rockets didn’t fall out of contention, hitting three big three pointers late in the fourth quarter, forcing the Warriors to keep their foot on the gas until the final seconds.
“It just never felt comfortable until the final two minutes or so,” Kerr said.
But the Warriors depth pushed them over the edge. Looney mitigated Wood’s presence in the paint, scooping up 14 rebounds. He has double-digit rebounds for the seventh time in the last 10 games.
Toscano-Anderson pitched in 10 points in 18 minutes off the bench. Klay Thompson had another frustrating night shooting, going 1-for-8 from three, but found his spots and put up 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the field. Moses Moody made a career-high three three-pointers in his second career start.
Source: www.mercurynews.com