RingCentral – The complete business phone system
Warriors hold off Toronto Raptors
Stephen Curry with uncharacteristic struggles all night
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) celebrates after scoring against the Toronto Raptors with guard Stephen Curry during an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
2021.01.10 – Damion Lee converted the tying and go-ahead free throws with 4.3 seconds left and the Golden State Warriors withstood a rough fourth quarter to hold off the Toronto Raptors 106-105 on Sunday night despite uncharacteristic struggles by Stephen Curry.
Curry, who entered the night as the NBA’s second-leading scorer, was the target of an aggressive Raptors defense that chased, battered and bloodied the two-time MVP.
He finished with just 11 points on 2-of-16 shooting (1 of 10 from 3-point range), Hounded by guard Fred VanVleet, an assortment of long defenders and a box-and-1 defense, Curry made his first shot of the game but then missed his next 13 field goal attempts until making a key 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter.
“My offense, I expect it to be there every night,” Curry said. “With how teams are defending night to night, being able to figure that out, in terms of us just having confidence across the board no matter who’s out there on the floor, I like where we’re at right now.”
The Dubs motto “Strength in Numbers” is beginning to jell. All of the attention being paid to Curry created opportunities for his teammates; Andrew Wiggins finished with 17 points and four assists, Eric Paschall had 15 points off the bench, Draymond Green recorded 10 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds and Brad Wanamaker’s 2-pointer gave the Warriors a 16-point lead midway through the second quarter.
Pascal Siakam missed a jumper as the buzzer sounded but finished with 25 points, and Fred VanVleet scored 21 for Toronto in a rematch of the 2019 NBA Finals won in six games by the Raptors.
“It went in and out, pretty clean look,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said of Siakam’s last look.
The Raptors challenged a foul call on Kyle Lowry beyond the right side of the arc that originally would have given Lee three shots. It was determined on review the foul was before the shot — the third play that went to replay in the final 34.4 seconds. All three calls were confirmed.
Wiggins with his 17 points matched his career high with four blocked shots as Golden State nearly squandered away a game it led by 17 against an opponent that had scored a franchise-record 144 points Friday at Sacramento.
Kent Bazemore made a go-ahead lay-in with 1:06 to play for Golden State before VanVleet knocked down a jumper on the other end.
2021.01.10 – Warriors vs. Raptors – (NBA Video highlights)
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, right, drives against Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet (23) and forward Pascal Siakam during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
2021.01.10 – Warriors vs. Raptors – (NBA Video highlights)
2021.01.10 – Warriors vs. Raptors – (NBA Video highlights)
Curry turned the ball over with 34.4 seconds remaining and that went to review. Lowry missed a 3-point try and Golden State got one more chance with 7.6 ticks on the clock — another review that stood determining it was Warriors ball.
Lowry missed Friday’s game for personal reasons but returned and contributed 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists. His layup with 7:13 remaining pulled the Raptors within 94-90. VanVleet’s basket at 4:05 made it a one-point game before Kelly Oubre Jr. hit his first 3-pointer of the night moments later.
Eric Paschall scored 15 points off the bench on a night the Warriors reserves produced 46 points. Lee had 13 with three 3s.
Late in the third, Golden State’s defense showed just how much it is doing for the Warriors: drawing a 24-second violation by Toronto one possession, and then Yuta Watanabe stepped out of bounds the next. Toronto committed another shot-clock turnover in the fourth.
“We have enough talent, enough weapons to overcome a bad shooting performance,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
TIP-INS
Raptors: Chris Boucher had six blocks before fouling out against his former team…. Toronto missed its first nine shots and initial five 3s…. The Raptors are 1-5 on the road…. Toronto had won three straight in the series, most recently beating the Warriors to clinch a playoff berth in March 2020.
Warriors: Curry didn’t take his first shot until sinking a 12-foot jumper with 2:50 left in the first…. Draymond Green added 10 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds…. Wiggins didn’t practice in Saturday’s light shoot-around session but was probable despite a sore left quad — and he has still scored in double figures every game.
2021.01.10 – Warriors vs. Raptors – (NBA Video highlights)
NBC Sports BA – Steve Kerr thrilled with Wiggins and Oubre
2021.01.10 – Warriors vs. Raptors – (NBA Video highlights)
HONORING EDUCATORS
For their “Educators Night,” the Warriors hosted 50 fans from the Oakland and San Francisco Unified School Districts to watch from their virtual fan section at Chase Center, recognizing them for their essential work. Kaiser Permanente donated $40,000 to be split evenly between districts.
UP NEXT
Raptors: At Portland on Monday in Toronto’s first set of back-to-back games.
Warriors: Host Pacers on Wednesday to conclude a season-long 7 game home-stand.
Related – See : Curry’s Career-High 62 Points Motivation
Related – See below: 2018 Warriors NBA Finals (video)
Read more at: Golden State Warriors Media Services / More AP NBA
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
For more on the Golden State Warriors, see the blog at www.EMIsportsCentral.com
RingCentral – The complete business phone system
EMI Sports Central – EMI Sports Bay Area: Join the conversation on sports news for SF Bay Area teams: Follow @EMIsports on Twitter, “Like” us on Facebook and sign up for our FREE email newsletters.
2018 Warriors NBA Finals video highlights