SAN FRANCISCO. If anyone needs a reminder, the Warriors are way better with Draymond Green playing. Not surprisingly, the Warriors defeated the Washington Wizards 126-112 at the Chase Center on Monday night.
This improved the Warriors’ record that season to 28–6 with Draymond, compared to 19–16 without him.
Green returned from a disc/back injury for the first time in over two months and made an immediate impact, even off the bench. Due to the minute limit, Steve Kerr decided not to launch his star forward. In fact, Green was the third player off the bench after Otto Porter Jr. and Moses Moody. It was the first time Green didn’t start a game he was fit for since Game 3 of the Warriors’ first round game against the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2014 NBA Playoffs.
In 20 minutes, Green scored 24 points with six points, six assists, seven rebounds and one steal.
Steph Curry stole the show as always with a game-high 47 points, winning 16 of 25 from the field and 7 of 14 from long range. Klay Thompson added 20 points, Jordan Pool also added 20 points, and rookie Jonathan Cuminga, who started in place of Green, scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Here are the three takeaways: The Warriors prevailed in Draymond’s comeback and improved their record to 47-22 on the season, winning their fourth game in a row.
Draymond effect
Green entered the game at 4:50 in the first quarter. The first time he had the ball in his hands, he found Curry for an open three-pointer just 11 seconds into the game. Happy 34th birthday, Steph. Two trips later on the court, Green again helped Curry to three more points. The next time the Warriors had the ball, Draymond struck out his 3-pointer.
In his first three-plus minutes of play, Green scored nine points—two assists from Curry’s three-pointers and a triple from his first shot. It will play.
Draymond played 11 minutes in the first half and eight different Warriors hit a 3-pointer. By halftime, he was up 12 with five points, five assists and four rebounds. This is the green that the entire Golden State has been waiting for again.
They are back
Curry, Thompson and Green waited 1005 days to finally play the court together. It happened 2:45 before the end of the second quarter.
On their first joint possession, Curry made a lay assisted by Kevon Looney. Two tries later, the old Draymond attacked and threw a flawless pass to Clay, who enjoyed every second of the game.
There’s no prettier kind of basketball than these three playing together, and the rest of the league knows they’re in for a nightmare when they play against the Warriors with this hardwood trio.
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Birthday boy
At 34, Steph Curry just keeps getting better. Ask him at your own risk. In fact, it was his best birthday ever. At least when it comes to playing on his birthday.
Curry’s 47 points is a new career high on the day he manages to blow out the candles. His previous best game on his birthday was last season when he scored 32 points. His 47 points is also his most since the calendar was flipped to 2022, and his second most so far this season.
There is no better gift for Curry than the return of his teammate Green, and now the real victory begins for the Warriors with the return of their Big Three.