What we learned as GP2’s career night fuels Warriors’ win

[ad_1]

What we learned as GP2’s career night fuels Warriors’ win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors on Monday night at Chase Center were reminded that every quarter counts.

They played phenomenal two-way basketball against the Portland Trail Blazers in the first half to hold a 19-point lead, 68-49, but came out flat in the third quarter where they were outscored 43-34. Message received.

Both teams scored 28 points in the fourth quarter, showing how important the Warriors’ great first half was for a 130-120 win.

The star of the night somehow wasn’t Steph Curry. It wasn’t Jimmy Butler, nor was it Draymond Green. That title belonged to Gary Payton II.

Playing against his former team that gave him a hefty paycheck after the Warriors’ 2022 NBA championship season, Payton was nothing short of spectacular. Payton was a marksman from 3-point range, a menace defensively, threw down a crowd-pleasing dunk and even showed off some wild acrobatics.

This embedded content is not available in your region.

Payton in 28 minutes off the bench scored a career-high 26 points, going 11 of 16 from the field and 4 of 6 on threes. Monday night marked his first 20-point game since December of 2021.

This embedded content is not available in your region.

Steph Curry scored 24 points and fell two 3-pointers shy of 4,000 for his career. Moses Moody and Buddy Hield also added 20 points, and Butler put together a 15-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist triple-double.

Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ fifth consecutive win.

GP … 3

On a night where everybody waited to see if Curry would make his 4,000th career 3-pointer, Payton stole the show from downtown. Whenever he makes a single three, it’s an added bonus. If Payton is draining multiple shots from behind the 3-point line, it’s almost a guarantee the Warriors are cooking offensively.

Payton in the first quarter scored seven points off the bench, with the lefty making his lone 3-point attempt, cashing in from the right corner. The second quarter, where the Warriors outscored the Blazers 33-22, is when Payton really began to heat up.

He took four…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/learned-gp2s-career-night-fuels-214033998.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2025-03-10 21:40:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.