Clutch Curry Closes Out Cavs in Home Victory

Stephen Curry does it again. After a 47-point outing where he scored 17 fourth quarter points against the Kings en route to a win on Monday, Curry followed it up with another heroic performance, recording 40 points in the Warriors’ 106-101 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers at Chase Center on Friday night.

Curry scored 10 straight points for the Dubs, turning a 98-95 deficit with under 80 seconds into the second consecutive comeback win at home.

Trailing by three points, Curry and Draymond Green ran a two-man game, which resulted in a catch-and-shoot Curry 3-pointer to tie the game at 98-98. After a Donovan Mitchell missed shot, Kevon Looney secured the rebound and immediately found a darting Curry down the court, who was able to finish the fast break and give the Dubs a two-point lead with 54 seconds remaining. Jarrett Allen made one of two free throws on the Cavs next offensive possession to cut the deficit in half, but Curry once again was able to come through in the clutch. Curry, with Isaac Okoro on him, dribbled around a Klay Thompson screen and pulled up for the dagger triple with just over 34 seconds left on the clock.

Draymond Green set a season-high in assists and rebounds on Friday, recording a near double-double with 13 assists and nine rebounds, while adding two points. No assist was more important than the one to Curry late in the fourth quarter to even the game up.

The Warriors got out to a quick start on Friday night, with the Dubs making their first two shots of the game, both 3-pointers courtesy of Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry. But the team then went cold from distance, missing 11 of their next 12 3-point attempts as the team went into halftime trailing 52-48. But in the second half, the Dubs shot started falling again. The team made 10-of-17 (58.8%) 3-point attempts, while holding the Cavs to just 3-for-16 (18.8%) from distance in the second half.

It seemed like the Warriors just had a little more juice than the Cavs in the game's final minutes, as the Dubs closed the game on a 19-6 run. For the Cavs, it was their fifth and final game of an eight-day road trip, while the Warriors had a three-day break between games.

“It’s rare to get a day off and then two straight days of practice,” Steve Kerr said after practice on Thursday. “It might only happen once or twice all season, so it’s a great chance to recharge the batteries with the day off and then be really locked in for a couple of good practices. Taking care of details, just execution stuff at both ends and that’s what we’ve done.”

And just as Kerr said, that's what it looked like in the fourth quarter of Friday night's win: a team that was recharged and executing on both ends of the court when it mattered the most.

Anthony Lamb appeared in only one game through the Dubs’ first nine games of the season, totaling nine minutes. But with Curry, Thompson, Wiggins and Draymond Green getting rest on the second night of a back-to-back in New Orleans on Nov. 4, Lamb got his opportunity, scoring 16 points in 37 minutes while making his first start with the Dubs. He has earned himself a role for now for his defense and hustle, but he was also incredibly efficient on the offensive end in Friday's win. Lamb recorded 10 points in 24 minutes on Friday, shooting 4-for-7 from the field, while also adding four rebounds and finishing with a plus-six differential.

“He has been doing a great job," Kevon Looney said about Lamb postgame. "He fits our system really well. He makes shots. He plays tough. He is able to guard bigs and wings. He is able to move the ball and cut. He is the type of player that flourishes in our system. He has been doing a great job earning his minutes and his spot. If he keeps playing like this he is going to keep carving out a role.”

With his 3-pointer made in the first quarter, Stephen Curry extended his streak of making at least one 3-pointer to 200 consecutive regular season games, an NBA record. Curry made six 3-pointers in the win and leads the NBA in made three's this season. His streak began on Dec. 1, 2018.

The Dubs have had the Cavs number in recent years, with the win tonight the Warriors have won 11 consecutive games against Cleveland, the longest active winning streak against any opponent for the Dubs. Including the playoffs, the Warriors have won 19 of the last 20 matchups against the Cavaliers.

After unveiling their 2022-23 Nike NBA City Edition uniforms on Thursday, the Dubs wore them for the first time on Friday. The team also debuted a new court design on Friday night. Designed by Bay Area artist Hueman, the uniform design incorporates several unique elements. The centerpiece of the uniform is a yellow rose, representing the fearless, bold women who have changed the trajectory of history in their various industries. The emblem on the chest emanates rays of sunshine, symbolizing power and strength, and the gradient on the side of the uniform represents the diversity of the Bay Area. Lastly, the uniform type face sources inspiration from the historic Art Deco landmarks in the Bay Area.

As part of the team’s uniform reveal, the Warriors have also launched Empowered, presented by Rakuten — a celebration of women at the intersection of court, community and culture in the Bay Area. Through the campaign, the Warriors and Rakuten will donate over $25,000 to the Women’s Sports Foundation, founded by sports icon and social justice pioneer Billie Jean King in 1974, to advance the lives of girls and women through the power of sport.

The Dubs are only 12 games into the season, but Sunday’s game against the Sacramento Kings will already be the third time this season the two teams meet. The Dubs will travel to Sacramento in the front end of a back-to-back before hosting the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. The Warriors have won the first two meetings of the season, including a thrilling 116-113 win on Nov. 7, when Stephen Curry recorded a season-high 47 points.

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