POST GAME GOLDEN STATE - AWAY

Curry injures left foot in Warriors blowout loss to Celtics

ESPN

SAN FRANCISCO -- — Stephen Curry went down with a left foot injury late in the first half and Golden State coach Steve Kerr didn't like Marcus Smart's lunging move at the reigning NBA scoring champ.

Smart got an earful from Kerr, then they chatted again after the Boston Celtics beat the Warriors 110-88 on Wednesday night.

"I thought it was a dangerous play. I thought Marcus dove into Steph's knee," Kerr said. "That's what I was upset about. Lot of respect for Marcus, he's a hell of a player, gamer, competitor. I coached him in the World Cup a few summers ago. We talked after the game, we're good. I thought it was a dangerous play, just let him know."

Curry was injured with 4:19 remaining in the second quarter along the sideline while scrambling for a loose ball as Smart made a diving lunge on the play and landed on the reigning scoring champion's leg. Curry grimaced in pain and got up but hobbled along before exiting on the next dead ball moments later.

That came when Smart made another aggressive play, receiving a Flagrant 1 foul 4:09 before halftime when he leapt and caught his leg on Klay Thompson's shooting arm.

Kerr said Curry, who had three points on 1-for-4 shooting, was having an MRI exam. Rookie Moses Moody also injured his right shoulder.

Warriors forward Juan Toscano-Anderson said Smart wanted the ball but might have been able to use more caution.

"I don't think it was a dirty play," Toscano-Anderson said. "... We all know that's Marcus Smart, though, that's how he plays, he's gritty."

Draymond Green was whistled for a technical for arguing a foul called on Thompson against Smart at the 1:48 mark, with Green throwing his arms up in the air in disgust and yelling.

Jayson Tatum had 26 points and 12 rebounds to lead Boston, while Jalen Brown scored 14 of his 26 points in the first half. Smart wound up with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting and eight assists.

The Warriors couldn't keep up in their fourth straight home defeat to the Celtics and sixth of seven matchups in the Bay Area.

Boston's stingy, top-rated defense held Golden State to a cold 29.3% in the first half and 37.2% overall as the Warriors were limited to 19 assists. Jordan Poole was 1 of 8 but recovered to scored a team-high 29 points.

This was a tough blow for Curry two days after he dazzled for 47 points on his 34th birthday in a 126-112 win against the Wizards on Monday.

Green came off the bench for a second straight game as he regains his strength from a back injury, his minutes increased from 20 to 22.

WISEMAN WORKS

Second-year center James Wiseman returned from his assignment with the G League Santa Cruz Warriors and will continue to build up his conditioning. He started all three games and averaged 17.3 points — going 22 of 42 for 52.4% — 9.7 rebounds and 1.67 blocks over 20.7 minutes.

He hasn't played since April 10 last year while recovering from right knee surgery.

"The main thing is he's healthy and he's moving well and that's the biggest thing," Kerr said. "That was our biggest concern going in. Can he build the momentum, sustain it and continue to work on his conditioning, timing and so far, so good. Happy to see him out there."

TIP-INS

Celtics: Derrick White was 0 for 8 missing all five of his 3-point tries. ... Former Warriors assistant Aaron Miles, now with Boston, made the rounds saying hello to familiar faces before the game. ... Boston improved to 4-7 on the road vs. the Western Conference.

Warriors: Poole has scored 20 or more points in eight straight games. ... Andrew Wiggins and Nemanja Bjelica were both out with a non-COVID illness, the second straight game Wiggins missed. ... Golden State would have been the first team this season to reach 30 home victories. The Warriors won the first meeting in Boston 111-107 on Dec. 17. ... The Warriors shot 7 for 21 in the first quarter.

UP NEXT

Celtics: At Sacramento on Friday night.

Warriors: Host San Antonio on Sunday night.

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On the Curry play, looked it over a few times, was anyone’s ball for a moment, Smart dove in a straight line at the ball. If Curry doesn’t move, no contact; while Smart was diving, Curry took a step toward the ball, that step and Smart collided. That’s all it was, 2 guys going for the ball. Smart has always played like Dave Cowens, super physical, but never dirty.

Our defense took over from the start, I’m sure they game planned for us, but when you actually go after the real thing, our size, speed and relentlessness is something you can’t duplicate going against in practice. Our 2 elite wings can get in anyone’s air space, Al is 6’10”, we know how twitchy and long RWill is, Smart is 6’4”. Was shocked how much bigger we were than them, we are also more athletic than them at every position. Our 2 elite wings are taller than Draymond, who looked like a shrimp out there.

Was looking forward to seeing the much hyped Kuminga, he had one basket where he showed his vertical. That one basket was all he got, 2 J’s had no problem scoring on him, his defense had no impact and was surprised, thought he was a better defender than that. His defense not near what I recall of 2 J’s even in their first year, our guys came in with the ability to play the passing lanes. Kuminga looked kinda slow on perimeter for a supposed superb athlete. He’s got to put in a lot of work, but he won’t go against a team with wings like us very often either. And neither of our wings had their A game going and we still handled this young version of him no problem.

PP gave us just what we needed, scoring 10 straight points, once they got our 24 point lead down to 10. He’s got to let it fly whenever he’s open as he’s got that kind of range and that’s his game, don’t hesitate. I don’t know what happened to Derek White, except glad we won in spite of him, he can’t shoot any worse I hope. RWill with some great defense on the back line, swallowing swatting some shots. We missed so many bunnies, Tatum missed an alley opp dunk that should have been automatic, and lost the ball a bunch; we really could and should have had a much bigger lead earlier in the game. Steph before he went down was completely no factor, he went down with 4 minutes left in 2nd quarter; he had one FG and 4 TO’s, I’d say our game planning, Smart with 2 J’s itching to switch on to him worked.

This game was very important.

I have to put the win in the Signature win category.  We have moved into 4th place in the EC.  So how did we get here?

On January 6th we lost a second game in a row to the Knicks 108-105.  Our record was an abysmal 18-21.  We were flirting with not making the play in tournament.  We were up and down for another 3 weeks or so.  On January 29th we beat NOLA to go 1 game above .500 and since that game we have not looked back.  That game was the beginning of our 9 game streak.  There were signs during January that our team could have a breakout but injuries and the lack of consistent play kept us from becoming a good team.

I am mentioning this because going from 18-21 to 42-28 is really special.  By winning last night we have exceeded last year's regular season win total.

Marcus Smart gets the award for his remarkable efficiency. Wow..  Marcus is special.

As we continue to move forward this team can and will hang their hat on playing defense.  Our rotation remains suspect.   I have legit concerns.

Can Derrick White be counted on to make open shots?  I am not worried about Grant or PP.  I know the two of them can shoot well but I do not have the same level of confidence when it comes to DW.  He is going to get open looks because teams are sagging off of him.  He is no Marcus Smart. Meaning all the intangibles do not rise to a level where his poor shooting can be sustained if this teams wants to make a deep playoff run.

My old haunt, sushi restaurant Ozumas, was sold and the new place sucks.  So I'm auditioning various other places around me and the one I was at last night, which I like btw, is way up in the hills and WiFi coverage sucks at best.  You wouldn't think a high tech bubble like San Mateo County would have spotty coverage, but there you are.

We had the #1 defense going into last night.  GSW was #2.  A 22 point blow out will do nothing to hurt that standing.

Life is just SO much easier when Steph Curry's not playing.  I wouldn't count on Klay Thompson going 1-11 from 3 again either.  When you take 25% of your team's 3pt fgas you damn well better shoot better than 9% on them.

For us it was Derrick White's 0-8 and 0-5 from 3.  I know that 5 3pt fgas out of 40 isn't the same as 11-44 but still, ouch!

Marcus Smart was completely dialed in on both ends.  He always gets up for big games, especially vs GSW.  The GSW announcing crew was giving him props all game.  They've had a limited-offense-but-great-defender-and-floor-general in Draymond Green for years, so they know how to appreciate what Smart brings to the team.  20 points on 8-12, 4-7 from 3, 8 assists and zero turnovers is one helluva box score.  He was everywhere, diving on the floor, blowing them up.  Would I trade Smart for Bradley Beal?  Hmm, I might have to do that deal but there aren't too many others (not including the "wtf are you on?! deals like for Luka or Trae etc.  Those aren't going to happen, never, so I don't consider them.  But a player like Beal? Who may want out? That's possible albeit unlikely).




The Time Lord, patrolling the baseline.  Not since KG have we had this, and before KG it was who?  Parish?  I don't mean to make anybody feel old but that's almost 30 years ago (The Chief played his last game in green in the 1993-1994 season.  He was 40 years old).  4 blocks by RWill.  There was a great call by the play-by-play guy in the 2nd quarter when there was an entry pass to a baseline cutting Jordan Poole and RWill came from behind and blocked his layup.  "Draymond to Poole, BACKDOOR ERASED!".

Speaking of Jordan Poole he's the only reason this wasn't a 32, or even 42, point blowout.  #3 pick Otto Porter Jr with 5 points on 2-10, 1-6 from 3?  Awful.







https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401360861


Bob


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This was an exasperating game at the start, I wondered if our offense was ever going to show up but the one thing I held onto is our defense being so dominant. Robert Williams was a beast, blocking shots every way he could, Smart playing so passionately (and, Steve Kerr, what did you expect a guy like Smart to do when there was a loose ball on the floor? Step back and say, "ok Steph you can get it, step back and launch a three"??Those fourth quarter woes have turned into a joy to watch as they blow teams away.  Sure Thompson was not shooting well, Steph was out, but isn't this what the Celtics are supposed to do? Jump on a team and knock them on their ass.  

Kerr looked like a fool out there last night, he would not stop.  any other coach would have had at least one T if now thrown out.  Hard to accept losing when you have been been crowned the winners of the West before the season is even over,

I wish we could do it again, and again, and again. Let them know who the Celtics are

cowens/oldschool wrote:On the Curry play, looked it over a few times, was anyone’s ball for a moment, Smart dove in a straight line at the ball. If Curry doesn’t move, no contact; while Smart was diving, Curry took a step toward the ball, that step and Smart collided. That’s all it was, 2 guys going for the ball. Smart has always played like Dave Cowens, super physical, but never dirty.

Our defense took over from the start, I’m sure they game planned for us, but when you actually go after the real thing, our size, speed and relentlessness is something you can’t duplicate going against in practice. Our 2 elite wings can get in anyone’s air space, Al is 6’10”, we know how twitchy and long RWill is, Smart is 6’4”. Was shocked how much bigger we were than them, we are also more athletic than them at every position. Our 2 elite wings are taller than Draymond, who looked like a shrimp out there.

Was looking forward to seeing the much hyped Kuminga, he had one basket where he showed his vertical. That one basket was all he got, 2 J’s had no problem scoring on him, his defense had no impact and was surprised, thought he was a better defender than that. His defense not near what I recall of 2 J’s even in their first year, our guys came in with the ability to play the passing lanes. Kuminga looked kinda slow on perimeter for a supposed superb athlete. He’s got to put in a lot of work, but he won’t go against a team with wings like us very often either. And neither of our wings had their A game going and we still handled this young version of him no problem.

PP gave us just what we needed, scoring 10 straight points, once they got our 24 point lead down to 10. He’s got to let it fly whenever he’s open as he’s got that kind of range and that’s his game, don’t hesitate. I don’t know what happened to Derek White, except glad we won in spite of him, he can’t shoot any worse I hope. RWill with some great defense on the back line, swallowing swatting some shots. We missed so many bunnies, Tatum missed an alley opp dunk that should have been automatic, and lost the ball a bunch; we really could and should have had a much bigger lead earlier in the game. Steph before he went down was completely no factor, he went down with 4 minutes left in 2nd quarter; he had one FG and 4 TO’s, I’d say our game planning, Smart with 2 J’s itching to switch on to him worked.

Kerr needs his ass kicked. There was nothing dangerous about that play. Those kind of plays happen damn near every game. Marcus is famous for hitting the floor and so isn’t Draymond so WTH is Kerr talking about.
A damn Alley oop is dangerous if not executed properly. So isn’t fighting for a rebound etc.
If Kerr is going to try and walk it back by saying “I thought it was dangerous” than he needs to quit bulls88ting and say it was nothing or get a job driving an ice cream truck.

Kerr talking to another team’s player like that is also crossing the line. Talk to the ref maybe say a little something if the player barks back but if you’re that upset talk to his head coach AFTER the game.
Ime was asked about that and he blew it off saying Marcus handled it and he didn't need to get involved. True. I like that. He’s treating them like the men they’re supposed to be. But don’t think for one second that Ime liked what Kerr did.
Kerr went too far with Marcus and he crossed the fine line of disrespect.
I still like the guy but for the time being he’s on my hope your dog dies list.

Yeah, old Steve is a little full of himself. Although he's built a resume of being a winner with CHI and SAS as a player and 3 with GSW as a coach. He's entered Phil Jackson, Russell and Red territory. At least in the ballpark.

That doesn't give him the right to act like an ass. GSW have to be real careful in their responses in that everything MS did, they would do exactly the same since their defense is just about equal to ours. Draymond Green said some good things afterwards. Smart dude. They can't come out looking like hypocrites. He was covering for Steve and did a pretty good job of it given Draymond probably should have been thrown out for yapping at the refs a couple of times.

Neither of these teams likes to lose. A lot of GSW's freaking out is because they thought they were going to win all their remaining games now that Draymond was back and we were just a small obstacle in the way of that. They clearly underestimated our defense. So far, everyone has.

They do look awful without Steph, that's for sure. That was a complete dismantling. Sorry, I can't empathize or sympathize. I can relate with the injuries. We've been there, done that. But I feel no sorrow.

db

I watched the game on SF station. Rather lengthy postgame. Juan Toscano-Anderson, as well as Draymont, defended Smart despite interviewers repeated attempts to stir up controversy. In general, I like Kerr ,but in this situation he had an emotional response and was unwilling to admit he was wrong. I guess the argument about whether MS could play point guard is pretty much settled? Taking my avatar grandson to the game in Sac tomorrow night. It's about an hour closer than the Dubs arena, and I was more confident Celts would win against the Kings. Silly me.

Confidence my friend, you have got to become a believer!! You would have seen a heck of a game. Funny how thos fourth quarter woes of the first half of the season have become a nightmare for opposing teams.  Enjoy the game, i still do no understand why Sacto gave up Halliburton, he and Fox were a grid backcourt of the future.  I know they got Sabonis, but it is a head scratcher for me. The kid is something else.  Oh well, have a good time

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Confidence my friend, you have got to become a believer!! You would have seen a heck of a game. Funny how thos fourth quarter woes of the first half of the season have become a nightmare for opposing teams.  Enjoy the game, i still do no understand why Sacto gave up Halliburton, he and Fox were a grid backcourt of the future.  I know they got Sabonis, but it is a head scratcher for me. The kid is something else.  Oh well, have a good time

                        Thanks, Rosalie. I'm excited. It'll be the first time I see the Celts in person in about two years. My grandson Jonathan is a Faker fan, but I made him promise to root for the Celts tomorrow night

Twitter post of the day - from@notalakerfan: "Steve Kerr talking to Marcus Smart like he aint had Zaza Pachulia sending out bounties for him." Not to mention that Draymont threw himself on Grant in this very game---Grant just didn't get hurt because he was on the floor trying to get the ball, unlike Curry who looked like a shortstop trying to scoop up a grounder.

jrleftfoot wrote:Twitter post of the day - from@notalakerfan:     "Steve Kerr talking to Marcus Smart  like he aint had Zaza Pachulia sending out bounties for him." Not to mention that Draymont threw himself on Grant in this very game---Grant just didn't get hurt because he was on the floor trying to get the ball, unlike Curry who looked like a shortstop trying to scoop up a grounder.

That would be a good wrestling match GWill vs Draymond, right remember there was contact when Draymond got the ball on the dive before, breaks of the game. If Steph would have dived, he would have protected himself with his shoulders and hips. Breaks of the game, was Doc supposed to yell and scream and make a scene when Perk boxing out, got jumped on by Bynum, landing on his upper back and buckling his knee. Talk about no landing close to under a guys foot and 300 pounds landed on Perk. Such a dirty play, that was the biggest play of that series, never understood why more media didn’t rip Bynum for making such a dirty play, landing on another players back with a running start.

Hey Kerr,

It was a clean hard basketball play by Smart. If you don't like it, take a hike and go coach junior high school!

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Coaches do all sort of things to motivate their teams.  

He should have been given a technical.  I can see him being upset because they just got Green back one game prior and now Steph limps off the court.

He knows how Smart plays.  He knows that Smart plays with intensity.  He knows that Smart goes after those 50/50 possessions.  He knows that was a great play by Smart.  He knows that basketball is NOT a non contact sport.

I do hope that Curry gets back soon and Smart does too.