HOUSTON — Chris Paul can remember only twice coming off the bench in his entire basketball career.
The last time was for Team USA’s “Redeem Team” in the 2008 Olympics that featured LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade. The only other time came way back to 2004, his Wake Forest college days, when Paul missed the bus for a game against Temple and sat out the first four minutes.
Paul had started every one of his 1,365 regular season and playoff games in his 19-year NBA career until Sunday’s game against the Houston Rockets (0-3). Three games into his tenure with the Warriors, Paul came off the bench to make room for Draymond Green’s season debut and return to the starting five. The plan is to go with the same starters on Monday against the New Orleans Pelicans, too.
“Who likes new things, you know what I’m saying? (But) It’s not a matter of liking it,” Paul said. “It’s new. I don’t know, I don’t hate it. It’s not a matter of liking it. I liked the fact that we won.”
The Warriors did beat Paul’s former team, 106-95, at Toyota Center on Sunday night. They move to 2-1, both their wins coming on the road. Last year, Golden State didn’t win their second road game until Nov. 27.
Coach Steve Kerr said Paul accepting role off the bench is “massive” and compared it to Andre Iguodala — a career starter and veteran — accepting a bench role in 2014. It was a sacrifice that brought the team cohesion together for their first title in 2015.
“It’s a great sign, because we were champions that season,” Klay Thompson said. “Hopefully the same result happens (this year), but Andre is one of the best Warriors of all time. And Chris is one of the best point guards of all time and to be as selfless as he is to break that streak, it’s just awesome.”
The conversation with Paul about having him come off the bench was easy, Kerr said.
“When I talked to him this morning about it, he just nodded his head and said, ‘Let’s go get ‘em,’” Kerr said. “Like, not even a big deal.”
Unfamiliarity didn’t alter Paul’s impact on the second unit — he, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Gary Payton II and Dario Saric, primarily, turned a three-point deficit mid-way through the first quarter into a 13-point lead midway through the second quarter when Curry returned.
The bench unit outscored Houston’s reserves 41-21 in the game, led by Payton’s 15 points, including a trio of 3-pointers from his favorite left corner. Kuminga had nine points and Paul added six points with seven assists with a team-high plus-22 for the game.
“I have always been the same way as far as competing and doing whatever I got to do to help our team win,” Paul said. “In this role, if that means starting, if that means coming off the bench. I know who I am and what I am able to do. With our team, it works.”
The Warriors needed a little something from the starters to stave off a Rockets fourth-quarter comeback, though. Thompson had 19 points on 12 shots, including five 3-pointers. Green turned a rusty first half into a productive second half, finishing with five assists and five rebounds.
Curry put on a show different from his 41-point spectacular against the Kings two days ago. Shaking off pesky defender and longtime foe Dillon Brooks, Curry hit four straight 3-pointers in the final five minutes to turn a one-point lead into an 11-point lead within two minutes.
Curry taunted Brooks after dicing him up one-on-one for his fourth 3-pointer of the frame, throwing his hands to his face as if shocked at his own skill.
“We know what he’s about and his reputation,” Curry told NBC Sports Bay Area about the Warriors’ former Memphis adversary. “I don’t get caught up in that. I just play basketball. So obviously you let the game do the talking.
“There’s a lot of history with him particularly. End of the day, you just hoop. And the results speak for themselves. I like to have fun, especially in the fourth quarter when it’s winning time.”
Curry finished with 24 points on 6-of-14 from 3, including 14 points in the fourth quarter. Green played 19 minutes on a minutes restriction after returning from his ankle sprain.
Paul’s 1,216-game regular season starting streak was the longest to start a career since the 1970-71 season (when this stat was first recorded), according to Elias Sports Bureau. It’s also the fifth-longest streak in NBA history after Karl Malone (1,442), Kevin Garnett (1,424), John Stockton (1,255) and Reggie Miller (1,244.)
The Warriors’ next stop is Monday in New Orleans to complete their first of 15 back-to-backs this season. Then they return home to play the Sacramento Kings before embarking on a four-game road trip to Oklahoma City, Cleveland, Detroit and Denver to play the reigning champion Nuggets.
Source: www.mercurynews.com