Steph credits GP2’s ‘special’ dunk for energizing Warriors

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Steph credits GP2’s ‘special’ dunk for energizing Warriors originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Warriors’ upset win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night at Chase Center was nothing short of a true team win.

Before Golden State capped off its eventual 116-109 victory over the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed, it trailed by as many as 14 points in the first quarter before storming back, eventually tying the game in the third quarter and taking the lead in the fourth quarter before capping off the monster win at home.

The energy from the Chase Center crowd was high throughout the entire second half, and peaked when Warriors guard Gary Payton II threw down a vicious poster dunk on Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein to extend Golden State’s lead to 114-105 with 1:03 remaining in the game.

The electrifying moment, while just one basket in a series of big plays down the stretch, brought the Warriors bench to its feet and provided a big boost that Payton’s teammates fed off of.

“Over the course of the last four years, there have been moments like that,” Steph Curry said of Payton’s dunk postgame. “He was definitely excited because he said he hadn’t had one in a while. It doesn’t matter at what point in the game it happens, it’s always a big boost energy-wise, [the] demeanor for the whole team, to have something to celebrate.

“And for him, to show his athleticism. But to finish the game like that was special, it’s like you just want to have a stamp on a game like that, and the crowd was going crazy, the whole bench was up. That’s what a team needs when you’ve had a run like we’ve had. Not to over-emphasize one play, but it’s huge. It was a microcosm of our whole night.”

Payton has been notorious for his thunderous dunks over the years, and speaking to reporters after the game, was asked if he had been “hunting” a slam like the one on Hartenstein after not producing many posters this season.

“No, I haven’t been ‘hunting’ it, but I know I haven’t been up there in a while,” Payton explained. “Our coaches be killing us with ‘follow the help,’ so…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/steph-credits-gp2s-special-dunk-085244125.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2025-01-30 08:52:00

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