Curry’s amazing alley-oop highlights Warriors blowout of Blazers
The Golden State Warriors took control of their Friday night game at the Portland Trail Blazers well before the final few minutes of the third quarter. A 38-point first quarter helped stake the visitors a 74-52 lead that saw the NBA’s best offense playing near its peak. Portland made a run to start the second half that cut the deficit to 13 points, but Golden State was still up 16 when Brandon Rush grabbed a rebound just inside the 8:00 mark.
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I mention these circumstances only to note that the run-up to this Stephen Curry pass was not particularly dramatic. It’s the kind of highlight that stands on its own, like a fantastic poster-dunk. Anyway, just watch it:
Yes, that’s a no-look, over-the-shoulder alley-oop to Andrew Bogut, who somehow anticipated it because there’s no reason not to plan for everything when playing next to the reigning MVP. The Warriors dominated in a 128-108 win, but fans could be forgiven for talking about nothing more than this pass.
Curry did plenty else, of course, finishing with 26 points (8-of-18 FG, 4-of-11 3FG) and nine assists in only 29 minutes. Klay Thompson was more prolific, putting up a team-high 36 points (13-of-22 FG, 7-of-10 3FG) to continue a torrid scoring stretch. Draymond Green was pretty great (11 points on just 4-of-6 FG, 13 rebounds. 10 assists), too, putting up his fourth triple-double in five games.
But this game was not about the individual performances as much as the Warriors’ depth. They shot 52.7 percent from the field despite a 2-of-10 outing for Harrison Barnes and made 56.3 percent (18-of-32) of their long-range attempts with 36 assists on 46 field goals. If anything, the Warriors are only getting deeper — Brandon Rush, an afterthought last season, made 8-of-9 shots and all four of his threes for 20 points. Their seventh and eighth options would arguably hold major roles on many playoff teams.
Meanwhile, the Blazers got major offensive output from Damian Lillard (40 points on 12-of-27 FG) but shot only 39.6 percent from the field. Like many Warriors opponents, they were outplayed at both ends.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
