LOS ANGELES – Stephen Curry drilled the game-winning three-pointer in the Golden State Warriors’ thrilling 113-112 National Basketball Association (NBA) victory over the Phoenix Suns on Feb 10, which saw Draymond Green and Jusuf Nurkic face off again.
Curry made nine three-pointers on the way to 30 points, but the 35-year-old star saved his best for last.
In a back-and-forth battle that featured 22 lead changes, the Warriors trailed 112-110 with 3.3 seconds remaining when Curry caught an awkward inbounds pass from Brandin Podziemski, turned and unleashed a long trey that put Golden State ahead with seven-tenths of a second remaining.
Said Podziemski: “A shot that I think only he would take. A regular person would probably take a dribble or something like that.”
Three-time All-Star Bradley Beal, who had attempted a steal to stop the ball getting to Curry, added: “He’s the best to ever shoot it. So you know the result after that.”
It was just one more signature moment for Curry, a four-time champion and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player with the Warriors, who are struggling this season to maintain their status as Western Conference contenders.
Devin Booker scored 32 points to lead the Suns, with his turnaround jump shot with 35.6 seconds left giving Phoenix a 112-110 lead at Chase Centre. Former Warrior Kevin Durant added 24 but, on the Suns’ last-gasp inbounds play, he could not get a shot up.
There was also the drama on the side involving Green and Nurkic.
Green was suspended for 12 games after taking a swing at Suns centre Nurkic’s head in December. He had previously been suspended for five games in November for putting Minnesota Timberwolves centre Rudy Gobert in a headlock.
The pair exchanged words after just four minutes of the first quarter after a foul was called on Green. Nurkic taunted Green with a “too small” gesture in the third quarter and the latter did the same two minutes later after scoring against the Bosnian.
Green’s return from what had initially been an indefinite suspension involved counselling and convincing the NBA that he had learnt to regulate his behaviour.
Not that Nurkic is convinced. He said: “It’s sad. He didn’t learn anything. Just a matter of time he’s going to hit somebody again. Take back everything I said. He doesn’t deserve a chance.”
Green responded, saying: “I thought I was great tonight. He tried to get in my head, and it didn’t work. If he wants me to walk around quiet like him, I’m never going to do that.
“Quiet guys don’t win. He can keep rocking with that same horse that he rode in on. He can ride his ass right out of here on that same horse. It’s not working.”
Elsewhere, the Dallas Mavericks, fuelled by 32 points from Luka Doncic and 25 from Kyrie Irving, routed the high-flying Oklahoma City Thunder 146-111, notching a fourth straight victory to match their longest winning streak of the NBA season.
Daniel Gafford added 19 points and nine rebounds as he made his Mavs debut along with P.J. Washington – both acquired at the trade deadline.
Doncic found both newcomers for alley-oop dunks in the first quarter, when Dallas took a 47-30 lead at American Airlines Centre.
Doncic outshone Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in a battle between the league’s top two scorers. Doncic, the NBA scoring leader, added eight rebounds and nine assists, and had the luxury of resting in the fourth quarter.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 25 points with six rebounds and five assists, but the Thunder – who came into the contest just a half-game behind Minnesota for the Western Conference lead – trailed by as many as 41 and dropped a second straight contest.
Irving added eight assists, delivering the 4,000th of his career in the second quarter.
Mavs coach Jason Kidd was delighted to see both Gafford and Washington mesh seamlessly with their new teammates, indicating they provide just what Dallas need as they try to climb from eighth in the West.
“I thought Gafford was great on both ends. P.J., he just let the game come to him. The pace was high (and) we didn’t have to run anybody’s minutes up. Just a lot of good stuff,” Kidd said.
As the Thunder faltered, the Los Angeles Clippers moved into second place in the West with a tougher-than-expected 112-106 victory over the league-worst Detroit Pistons at Crypto.com Arena.
Paul George scored 33 points for the Clippers, while Kawhi Leonard added 24 points. AFP
