Three takeaways from the Warriors’ 116-102 win over the Chicago Bulls (19-26) Monday night at Chase Center, as Stephen Curry returned from a five-game absence to snap a four-game skid and help Golden State improve to 23-24:
Stephen Curry made his presence felt
With Curry back in the lineup, the Warriors not only got a much-needed win, but the offense got back to its free-flowing ways. The Warriors hadn’t necessarily struggled on that end over the last few games — they have now shot better than 50% overall in each of the last three games — but on Monday they had an identity. Curry ran around the floor, poured in shots, dazzled with dribble moves and found open teammates on his way to 32 points on 11-of-24 shooting, including 6-of-14 from 3-point range, and six assists.
Teammates James Wiseman (12 points on 6-of-8 shooting), Draymond Green (11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range), Andrew Wiggins (21 points on 8-of-15 shooting) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (18 points on 8-of-19 shooting) all played well in the same game for the first time in, well, a while.
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“He’s the heart and soul of what we do,” head coach Steve Kerr said of Curry. “I think the last few games, it’s been tough without that dynamic of having Steph flying off screens and running pick-and-roll and spreading the floor and bringing his juice, his life and energy to the game. So we’ve been in a little rut and we needed him and he came through.”
It was Curry’s 12 points in the third quarter that helped power a decisive 16-7 run and take an 11-point lead. In a matchup between 10 seeds, the Warriors looked like the superior team.
Throughout the game, Curry grimaced after contact and came up in visible pain from fighting for rebounds and even a drawn charge. Going forward, he expects his tailbone will bother him and says it will be “something to manage” but he “will be good to keep playing.”
Wiseman had one of his best games of the season
In the days leading up to Monday’s game, Curry and Wiseman spent significant time getting reps together in pick-and-roll sets in practice. It appears that practice paid off, as Wiseman had one of his best two-way games of the season.
It started with a floater after Andrew Wiggins found Wiseman rolling to the rim with a pocket pass. A few possessions later, Wiseman finished a complex play in which he had to make a pass and set a down screen with a lob from Draymond Green. Wiseman can be seen patiently going through the steps of his timing and positioning.
Finally, he slipped a screen in a high pick-and-roll with Curry and soared for an alley-oop dunk. Wiseman scored six of his 12 points in the first four minutes.
“There were a lot of opportunities out of the pick-and-roll situation where I was able to just screen hard, roll to the basket and get downhill,” Wiseman said.
He seemed more comfortable in the paint, battling with Bulls center Nikola Vucevic and their other forwards. Although Vucevic — who Chicago acquired at last week’s trade deadline — out-produced Wiseman with 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists, Wiseman showed toughness in blocking a career-high four shots and grabbing five rebounds. In the third quarter, Wiseman swooped in over Bulls center Daniel Theis, grabbed the ball with both hands and saved it from going out of bounds. Curry was visibly excited as he slapped the ball and encouraged his rookie teammate.
Watch how pumped Steph Curry is after James Wiseman secures this rebound pic.twitter.com/ymJ6uaKqnL
— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) March 30, 2021
“That rebound was just him being physical and trying to go after the ball. Claiming it. That’s a good sign of how he’s going to help us,” Curry said of Wiseman. “We need some more of that.”
The road ahead
This was a much-needed win for the Warriors, who are a game ahead of Sacramento for the No. 10 seed, a half-game behind Memphis for the No. 9 seed and 1½ games behind San Antonio for the No. 8 seed. Beating Chicago avoided potentially falling out of the play-in tournament field (seeds 7-10) before Thursday’s game in Miami.
“The last four (games) haven’t really gone our way in terms of execution and energy,” Curry said. “We just wanted to get back to the basketball we’re capable of playing.”
Fortunately for the Warriors, Curry is back and they have the fourth-easiest remaining schedule. Compare that to San Antonio (second-toughest remaining schedule) and Memphis (16th-toughest), and that bodes well for Golden State’s playoff push.
“I’ve told you guys the last couple of weeks I think we’re going to make a run down the stretch,” Kerr said. “I really believe that and I thought tonight’s game showed you why I believe that can happen.”
