Warriors observations: Steph Curry saves Dubs again, fuels win over Cavaliers

What we learned as Steph saves the day again, fuels Dubs win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors on Friday night at Chase Center were handed their biggest test yet, facing the Cleveland Cavaliers after multiple days off to correct their many errors.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: The Warriors again were saved by Steph Curry.

In what was nothing short of a battle all night, Curry put on his cape and led the Warriors to a 106-101 win.

Truly, the story to the game is simple as that. One team had Curry on its side, and one team had to try to stop him. Good luck with that.

Curry scored at least 30 points for the ninth time in the 11 games that he has played this season. Just as he did Monday night in the Warriors’ win over the Sacramento Kings, he saved his best for last.

Curry scored 18 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter. Earlier in the week, he dropped 17 of his 47 points in the final frame. He also made four of his five 3-point attempts in the fourth, with each one pulling more gravity from the home crowd.

The Warriors (5-7) finally have a win streak, and they know who to thank.

Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ comeback victory over the Cavs (8-4):

Klay concerns

It’s impossible to expect Klay Thompson to be the player he was before two brutal leg injuries, first to his ACL and then to his Achilles. That took away two-and-a-half years of his prime. There are no words for what the Warriors guard endured.

So far this season, though, the results have been far from ideal. Even in the win, the troublesome trend continued. Thompson scored just nine points, going 3 of 13 from the field and 2 of 7 on 3-point attempts.

On defense, Thompson has been late on rotations, and frustrations from offense seem to carry over to the other side of the court. The good news is, he came through when the Warriors needed him most from downtown.

Thompson played under four minutes in the third quarter, and didn’t come back in until six minutes remained in the fourth. Coach Steve Kerr stuck with his guy the rest of the way, and the Warriors did come out on the right side of the win column again.

Story continues

For the season, Thompson now is shooting 34.9 percent from the field and 32.3 percent on 3-pointers.

QB1

To open the game, Draymond Green’s mindset was clear: He had to get his teammates going. On the Warriors’ first three made shots of the night, Green was awarded with an assist.

The trend didn’t stop there. This was a classic Draymond day in the box score.

By the end of the first quarter, Green gave Golden State five assists and four rebounds. Those numbers grew to eight assists and seven rebounds. In the end, Green dished out 13 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds.

But he also didn’t score until there was just 3:43 left in the game, and then was given a controversial delay of game.

Dub Nation enjoyed a Draymond Green game in every sense of the word, and it wasn’t short on a technical foul and a whole lot of jawing at the refs. As it often goes with him, it also ended with a win.

Lamb earns more trust

The more Kerr gives minutes to two-way player Anthony Lamb, the more obvious it is why he’s trusted. Lamb is non-stop energy. He plays sound defense, is willing to make the extra pass and isn’t hesitant when given a chance for a corner three.

In a productive first half, Lamb even was the one trying to pump up the Chase Center crowd.

Kerr used a nine-man rotation against the Cavs, as James Wiseman and JaMychal Green didn’t play for the second consecutive game. Moses Moody didn’t play either. But Lamb, Kerr and the players sure look comfortable with him on the court.

Lamb played 11 first-half minutes, scoring seven points and grabbing three rebounds. Through three quarters, he was a team-high plus-7 in plus-minus. He wound up a plus-6 in 24 minutes off the bench, scoring 10 points to go with four rebounds and two 3-pointers.

On a bench that’s struggling learning how to be role players, Lamb has no problems doing so.