Getty Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors took care of business in Game 4, evening the best-of-seven series at 2-2 and protecting their home floor for the second game in a row. Utilizing their playoff experience, they were able to fend off the Sacramento Kings in the final minutes of Golden State’s 126-125 win.
After the game, Kings head coach (and former Warriors assistant) Mike Brown spoke about his team’s playoff inexperience, noting two plays where they left Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson open behind the arc.
“You can’t rest out there,” Brown said. “You can’t think that you can play something a certain way and the champions aren’t going to make you pay the price. One time, we gapped versus Steph, and hit a 3, which was huge. Another time, we gapped versus Klay, and he hit a 3, which was huge. And you might think, ‘Ah, it’s just one possession.’ Well, those six points right there, us not doing what we’re supposed to do, that shows our playoff inexperience, because you have to take pride in playing a certain way for 48 minutes, and it ain’t going to be easy.”
The duo of Curry and Thompson carried the offensive load for the Warriors in Game 4, leading the Warriors in the scoring column. And they lit it up from 3-point land.
Curry finished the night with 32 points, five rebounds, four assists and one steal. He shot 11-of-22 from the field and 5-of-11 from behind the 3-point arc. Thompson put up 26 points, two rebounds, three assists and one steal. He shot 9-of-15 from the floor and 4-of-9 from deep.
Warriors’ Stephen Curry Praises Andrew Wiggins
While Curry and Thompson led the way on offense, Andrew Wiggins played a huge role on the defensive end. After the game, Curry showed love to Wiggins, dropping two nicknames, both praising his clutch defensive play.
“Playoff Wiggs. Two-Way Wiggs. All the different nicknames that he’s established since he’s been here,” Curry said. “Huge part of our success with the way that he can influence games, not just scoring the basketball. So, it’s easy to forget this is only his fourth game back since February. He’s starting to find his legs and find his confidence. His endurance to play 38 minutes and chase D-Fox around all game. You love to see it.”
Wiggins last played on February 13, missing the final 25 games of the regular season with an undisclosed personal issue.
Warriors’ Draymond Green on Game 4 Final Play
Game 4 came down to the wire. With the ball in his hands with 10 seconds left in the game and Sacramento trailing 126-125, the Kings’ De’Aaron Fox drove into traffic in the lane, so he dished it to Harrison Barnes with 2.1 seconds left. Barnes fired a 3-point attempt that bounced off the rim as time expired. On his podcast, “The Draymond Green Show,” Draymond Green broke down the final possession from Golden State’s perspective.
“We know what Fox does in that situation,” Green said. “Most importantly, you can’t let him beat you there, which was my mindset. He got the ball, he was looking to make his move, [I] tried to get the ball out of his hands because you don’t just win Clutch Player of the Year being average. You’ve been in enough of those situations to show what you do in those situations. He got an award that was well-deserved, so I know in that situation what he’s trying to get to. And I came to help and Steph reacted immediately, went and get a contest on Harrison’s shot, and Harrison missed.”
