Draymond Green defends Jordan Poole’s late missed deep 3-pointer from Game 1 vs. Lakers

After a quiet first round against the Sacramento Kings, Jordan Poole came alive in Game 1 of the second round against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Poole tallied 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field with six made triples to go along with six assists and a steal in 29 minutes off the bench in the Warriors’ Game 1 loss on Tuesday night.

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Despite his solid performance, Poole’s Game 1 will be remembered for his late miss from way beyond the arc in the fourth quarter. After trailing, Steph Curry helped lead a late comeback, cutting the Lakers’ lead all the way down to three points. With under 10 seconds remaining, Poole launched a long-distance 3-pointer from 27 feet that clanked off the rim.

Following a pair of Dennis Schroder free throws, the Lakers locked up Game 1 on the road against the Warriors, 117-112.

After Poole caught criticism for his deep jumper in crunch time, Draymond Green came to the defense of his teammate. On his podcast “The Draymond Green Show,” Green said he liked Poole’s shot.

Via The Draymond Green Show:

Quite frankly, I liked the shot. Obviously, you tell him to eat up the space and take the three a little bit closer, he could’ve eaten up the space. Jordan can shoot the ball, and he got a good look at it. Yes, you want him to take a couple of steps in and get an even closer three, but Jordan taking that three is not why we lost that game.

I know everyone is going to point at that one play and say ‘he should’ve never shot that three.’ Prior to that three he was 6-for-10. You got a guy 6-for-10 that you know can shoot the piss out of the ball, you get an open three and you live with it. There was some things I personally could have done to make sure we weren’t even in that situation.

Via @TheVolumeSports on Twitter:

Listen to the full episode of The Draymond Green Show here.

Green, Poole and the Warriors will be back on the court on Thursday for Game 2 against the Lakers at San Francisco’s Chase Center at 7 p.m. PT.