Category: NBA

The Knicks, playing on the second night of a home back-to-back, looked like a team playing on a quick turnaround as they struggled out of the gate and had a horrendous second quarter that put them in a hole they couldn’t climb out of in a 124-107 loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 31 points on 10-for-23 shooting, but left the game hobbling after turning his ankle while being fouled with two minutes to play. He was a minus-20 in 37 minutes, adding three rebounds, six assists, three turnovers, and six fouls. Karl-Anthony Towns really struggled for offense, as did the rest of the team. He had just 15 points on 6-for-15 shooting with 12 rebounds, four assists, and was a minus-2 in 35 minutes. The three other starters for he home team – OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and MitchellRobinson – combined for 16 points on 6-for-15 shooting. 

The loss snapped New York's five-game winning streak and seven-game home win streak to start the campaign.

The Magic, who lost All-Star Paolo Banchero after the first quarter, got 28 points from Franz Wagner (10-for-22 from the floor) with nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals for a plus-21 in 37 minutes. And 22 points from Desmond Bane (7-for-15) with eight assists and six rebounds and was a plus-13 in 34 minutes. Anthony Black, coming off the bench, helped withstand a little fourth-quarter surge by the Knicks, scoring 17 on 7-for-11 shooting in 24 minutes.

Here are the takeaways...

- Brunson was the Knicks’ offense in the game’s early goings with all four points, but he also had a turnover and a shot blocked that led to Orlando runouts for a Magic lead and an early Mike Brown timeout at the 9:44 mark in the first.

And transition defense was something Brown didn’t like from the Knicks’ second-half performance the night before against the Grizzlies: “We watched [the film], we talked about it, we didn’t do a good job of following our rules. And then we got a little lazy on the things we do in the half-court, too, defensively,” the head coach said pregame. The poor second half the night before had clearly carried over.

A Brunson three gave him 11 in the first, but New York sputtered thanks to six turnovers, including three from Josh Hart off the bench and two from Anunoby. However, Orlando, despite getting plenty of open looks from behind the arc early, but entered as just about the least proficient outside shooting team in the league, and missed seven of 10 in the opening quarter, and New York was down 30-23 after 12 minutes. The Magic were 10-for-24 (41.7 percent) from the floor, besting the Knicks' 7-for-19 (36.8 percent).

Brunson led the Knicks with 16 points, but was 4-for-10 shooting and was a minus-17 in 19 first-half minutes.

- Towns, who entered the night shooting 43.2 percent from the floor (a career low) and 33.3 percent from three (also a career low), got very frustrated with the referees early in the second after he thought he was fouled on a shot attempt and didn't get the call. In a rough first half he had six points on 3-for-7 from the floor (missing two three-point attempts) with seven rebounds, an assist, a steal, a turnover, and two fouls, one of which came out of his frustration over the no-call, and was a minus-16.

In the fourth, Towns finally hit double-digits and put in five quick ones to force a Magic timeout, cutting the lead to 12 with just under 10 to play. And he made it 11 straight games to start the season with 10+ rebounds, but the lead was still 11 with 6:28 to play when he picked up his fifth personal with two fouls in under 15 seconds, the first on a silly reach-in 30 feet from the basket and a loose ball foul fighting for a defensive rebound.

Brunson cut the lead to nine, but after Jalen Suggs drained a deep three and the Knicks guard grabbed his fifth foul on Wagner, who knocked down a pair at the line, with 5:21 to go. But he stayed in the game and hit two shots, but both were answered by Black, scoring five of his nine fourth-quarterpoints to force a timeout with the lead back at 15 at the 4:23 mark.

Brunson drew a pair of offensive fouls, sticking his nose in there, but after Bane knocked down a spot-up three to make it 16 with two to play, Brown emptied the bench as Brunson appeared to roll his ankle in his final act of the night.

- The second quarter was ugly at the start with the home side connecting on just 3 of their first nine (1-for-5 from deep), and an 11-2 Magic run pushed it to a 13-point deficit. A Hart old-fashioned three-point play put a stop to the bleeding, but his next attempt missed, and that sandwiched two more Orlando buckets, and it was 46-31 to the visitors. The Magic lead topped out at 21 before the game hit the half with Orlando ahead 62-42.

The Knicks scored just 19 points in the second, shooting 6-for-20 (30 percent) from the floor in the quarter (1-for-10 from three). And the 42 points and six assists in the first 24 minutes were both season lows for a first half.

- Robinson opened the third quarter by flushing an alley-oop from Brunson (his first bucket), and that began a 9-2 run, but the Knicks’ big man picked up two quick ones to give him four in the game. And he would hit the bench, a tough one to see sit as he had eight boards (five offensive) to that point.

Anunoby knocked down his first field goal of the game (a three at the 7:26 mark of the third), and the Knicks had clearly picked up the intensity on both ends, knocking down 10 of their first 15 and forcing a few turnovers, but five quick points by the Magic pushed their lead back to 16 with four minutes left in the period. And after all that good workgetting the lead down to 11, the Knicks missed their next seven field goal attempts, and the deficit was 18 at the end of the third.

Robinson finished with two points, eight rebounds, and four fouls and was a minus-11 in 17 minutes. Anunoby finished with eight points (2-for-4 shooting) with four rebounds, two blocks, an assist, a steal, and was a plus-1 in 34 minutes. Bridges had a very quiet six points (3-for-9 shooting) with two rebounds, two assists, two steals, and was a minus-19 in 28 minutes.

- Off the bench, Landry Shamet was the first man in for Robinson, who didn’t play Tuesday, just four minutes into the game and knocked down his first attempt (a corner three) a few moments later. He finished with 11 points and was a minus-3 in 27 minutes. 

Guerschon Yabusele knocked down a much-needed three in his first moments on the court to start the second as the Knicks' bench was looking to provide some kind of spark amid a rather listless first half. But didn’t spark anything as the bench had just 14 points in the first half (4-for-15 from the floor and 3-for-12 from deep) with five turnovers and four fouls. He finished with six points and was a minus-4 in just 5 minutes, seeing action again only in garbage time.

Miles McBride had nine points (3-for-8) and was a minus-9 in 21 minutes. Hart finished with 10 points (4-for-10), three rebounds, two assists, and was a minus-16 in 18 minutes.

Game MVP: Franz Wagner

The fifth-year player was the clear bright spot for an Orlando team that appears to have some pieces, but not a complete squad. He stood in stark contrast to a Knicks team that has shown they are a complete squad, but had no pieces on Wednesday night.

What's next

The Knicks conclude the seven-game homestand on Friday night when the Miami Heat come to town. Tip is set for 7:00 p.m.

Impassioned Doug Christie sends stern warning to Kings stars as skid continues originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SACRAMENTO – In a 30-hour span, Doug Christie has spoken to the media with more fire and passion than the Kings have played with all season.

One night after calling out haters and critics during his pregame media availability before Tuesday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Christie approached the podium Wednesday after another blowout loss, his team’s fourth in a row.

Before a reporter could even get a question off, the coach muttered three words as he took a seat.

“Shameful compete level,” he said after Sacramento’s 133-100 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

A ticked-off and emotional Christie went on to address the media in a fiery 13-minute dialogue that included a couple of F-bombs and the word “unacceptable” a handful of times.

“I’ve taken butt whoopings, that’s part of the game,” Christie said. “But you know what I’m going to do? I’m going to come back. You are not going to represent the Sacramento Kings — it just ain’t happening, man. Put on a jersey – represent it properly. 

“These people need to come into the turnstiles, and they need to be proud when they leave here about the product that they see, not f–king embarrassed. It’s unacceptable. Period.”

The Kings got off to a sluggish start, scoring just 10 points in nearly the first seven minutes of the game. But a couple of substitutions and a spark off the bench helped Sacramento pull within three to close out the quarter.

Then Sacramento turned the ball over eight times in the second frame and scored just 12 points in the entire quarter. Twelve points.

The Kings shot 4 of 22 (18.2 percent) from the field and 2 of 14 (14.2 percent) from 3-point range in the second quarter.

Atlanta outscored Sacramento 39-22 in the third quarter, and Christie had had enough at that point. He benched his veteran starters and thrust Precious Achiuwa, who joined the team last week, Daeqwon Plowden, who played his first game of the season and first with Sacramento, and rookies Maxime Raynaud and Nique Clifford onto the floor. They replaced DeMar DeRozan, Domantas Sabonis, Dennis Schroder and Russell Westbrook. Keon Ellis, who already was on the floor, remained in the game.

Christie admitted postgame that the substitution was intended to send a message to the team – particularly its leaders.

“I was embarrassed,” Christie said. “I wish I could have put on the Jersey at 55 [years old], I would have showed you better than that. At least I’m going to use all six fouls. I can’t move, but I’m going to foul the s–t out of somebody.”

DeRozan finished with four points in 19 minutes. It was just the third time he’s scored four points or less since joining the Kings during the 2024 offseason.

Schroder appeared to have been on the right track toward snapping out of a shooting slump, but finished with just nine points. Sabonis had 12 points and four turnovers. Westbrook and Achiuwa each had 10.

Two Hawks bench players outscored every Kings starter on Wednesday.

The leading scorer for Sacramento? Keon Ellis, who during this homestand, has been in and out of Christie’s rotation and experienced back-to-back games where he didn’t see the floor until the fourth quarter.

Ellis finished with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field and 6 of 11 from downtown, with six rebounds, three assists and one steal in 30 minutes off the bench.

Sacramento’s bench outscored Sacramento’s starters 55-45.

Christie kept it straightforward when he was asked if the bench’s production could lead him to shake up some things with his lineups moving forward.

“You got to,” he said. “Those guys [the starters] are minus-31, minus-38, minus-34, minus-20. I mean, you got to.”

Sacramento’s locker room is filled with established veterans, multi-All-NBA and All-Star players and likely future Hall of Famers.

They’ve each experienced their fair share of ebbs and flows that come throughout an NBA season, and one would think, should know how to respond when adversity hits like it has for Sacramento.

Christie hopes — and encourages — his leaders will be leaders.

“I would like them to lead,” Christie said. “You said veterans, so they need to lead, because we got young players in there watching this, and I’m going to text every one of them young players [saying] that’s not acceptable. Do not even think about even trying to equate that that is OK. Do not do it. I will not let you do that, because that s–t, it ain’t cool, no. So they need to lead.

“What do you want for your team? What do you want for this city? If you want something more than what that was — because that was trash — then lead them. Talk to them. Demonstrate for them. Go out there and show them. … Play the game. The game is to be respected. There’s a way to play this game and that ain’t it.”

While Christie didn’t seem to take a breath during his press conference, there was one lengthy pause that was noteworthy.

Christie, a former Kings player and now lead coach for the organization he loves and admires with every fiber in his being, was asked how he gets his players to care as much as he does.

A 44-second pause ensued. Silence.

Alas, a well-thought-out response.

“You know this one has passed me. This is about you. I know what I feel. I know what time I get up. I know what time I put into this. I know how serious I am about my job. I know what I want for them. And I even take it a step further and say, I know what the organization wants. But you got to want that as an individual — individually — when you look in the mirror. Then after that, you go collective. And right now, that’s where we run into the problem is the individual and the collective. Individually, you got to bring it, and then collectively, you got to love on each other. You got to love your brother enough to help him, to talk, to be there, to have extra efforts.

“I’m here to tell you it’s hard. Defense is not for the faint of heart. That’s why everybody don’t do it. But if it’s the last thing that I do, we will put a product out there that they’re like, ‘Damn. He did that. They doing that.’ It just is how it’s going to be. We’re not going to accept none of this. I don’t want our fans to accept. Nah, don’t. You don’t have to. It’s people that actually will do things the right way. [They] might not be as talented, but guess what? That’s when the hockey shift came in. We got some young kids, but you know what they’re going to try to do? They’re going to try to compete. Now, Max is not as talented as [Kristaps] Porzingis yet, and he got into trouble. And Nique gets back cut and OK, but it ain’t from a lack of effort. It ain’t from a lack of want.”

While Kings players have said, at least publicly, that Christie’s stern messaging has resonated well with them thus far, Christie isn’t so convinced by his players’ words.

“They’re saying they want to compete. One thing that I know is you could talk about it all you want, but we not going to be verbally competing,” Christie said. “This ain’t a debate show. This is physical. This is basketball. So you can tell me all day, and you can tell yourself all day, and you can tell your teammates all day, but one thing that I do know is the ball is thrown up, that’s when you need to step up and show that. Period. Every night, 48 minutes, 24 f–king seconds at a time.”

If words won basketball games, Christie’s Kings might be the top seed in the West right now.

But as the coach passionately explained, words don’t get you anywhere.

And now it’s on his team to respond with action.

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Steph Curry gets best of fellow alien Victor Wembanyama as Warriors beat Spurs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN ANTONIO – We’re being duped and deceived more and more every day. 

The internet feels less real every time we take out our phones and wonder if what we’re mindlessly scrolling past is AI or the latest trend that will fade away and get lost in the shuffle. Deep down, we want to believe. The belief fuels us and makes us fools all at the same time.

Thousands of UFO sightings already have been recorded this year with 50 days still remaining in 2025. Thousands. They create stories and eye rolls. Fuel, and fools. Aliens are among us. 

Ask the 18,578 fans in the building to watch the Warriors and San Antonio Spurs for four quarters on Wednesday night and you yourself can become a believer, if you somehow aren’t already.

There were 21 players who ran up and down the court at Frost Bank Center in the Warriors’ 125-120 win, with two aliens taking center stage. A basketball fanatic and a baby who can barely open its eyes could point out which person was taken from a French hovercraft and dropped down on San Antonio to reign supreme on the basketball world. 

Squint hard enough and you can see it. Watch him for more than a decade like Steve Kerr has and you know it by now. Oh yeah, the second alien is the one whose head is at the waist of Alien No. 1, Victor Wembanyama, when he’s flying in the air at him, but the ball sails over his outstretched left arm and through the net without touching a single part of the rim from the right corner. 

“All it takes is that one shot, and in that third quarter I feel like he hit that 3-pointer that finally went down. And when that went down, the corner one, it was like, ‘Here we go,’ ” Al Horford said. “Then it was just … they were in trouble.” 

Steph Curry threw both his hands up as a thank you to the heavens. Maybe to the overlords who graced his right hand at birth, too. It was a gesture of finally. They, being the Spurs, were in trouble. 

“Thankfully, I made one,” Curry said. “Got a rhythm going and felt like I could make a couple more. It was a good second half.” 

Indeed. 

Curry scored 46 points one night after he and his Warriors teammates were embarrassed in Oklahoma City by the defending NBA champions in his first game back from an illness, scoring only 11 points against the Thunder’s machine-like defense. He admitted he still was battling a cold, which was clear when he spoke, hoping to play 24 hours later against the Spurs. 

“Looks like he’s almost fully healthy,” Gary Payton II said. “Almost fully healthy. He probably would have gotten 50 if he was fully healthy. I’ll take the 46. Just to see him in a good rhythm is encouraging for everybody.”

Getting one game back under his belt helped Curry. His congestion still is there, but his lungs felt way different. Night and day, like the product Steph and the Warriors displayed against Wembanyama and the rising Spurs. 

That three over Wembanyama actually was Curry’s second of the game, with his first being a circus shot from the left corner in the first quarter while trying to draw a foul on former Warriors teammate Harrison Barnes. The third quarter, however, is when flames started firing from his fingers. 

Even after missing his first 3-point attempt of the second half. 

Once he sneakily ran behind Wembanyama from the left side of the court and found his way to the right corner where Jimmy Butler found him in mid-air, it was game on. Curry in the third quarter alone scored 22 points, six fewer than the Spurs did as a team. In nine minutes. 

He made three 3-pointers in three different ways during his third-quarter flurry, banked two 2-pointers – first from the right side and then the left – and forced his way to nine free throws. Yes, he made all nine. 

Kerr jokingly used the word “routine” to describe Curry’s night in totality that also included five rebounds, five assists, five threes, two steals and 15 made free throws with just one miss. 

“I’ve seen this,” Kerr continued. “How many times has he scored 40 in his career?”

The answer: 73. 

“I’m kidding, obviously,” Kerr continued. “That was not routine. When you have the privilege with Steph for 11-plus years like I have, you get used to this. He’s the reason this whole thing has happened. He’s our Tim Duncan. He’s the sun in our solar system.” 

Starring alongside Curry were the two who round out a Big Three on the other side of 35 years old. Jimmy Butler was Batman’s Robin with 28 points, six rebounds, eight assists and three steals. Draymond Green was their enforcer, making one of his 10 shot attempts but still finishing as a game-high plus-15 as he made Wembanyama fight as hard as he could for 31 points, throwing him out of whack for a season-high eight turnovers – the second-most in the Spurs star’s career. 

It still all starts with Curry. It’s timeless. It’s art. It’s a Broadway show.

It’s an alien lifeform in a 6-foot-2 body that has outgrown his previous Baby-Faced Assassin nickname. 

“You always have a chance when he’s on the floor, especially when he’s making incredible shots like he was,” Butler said. “That’s what we need, that’s what he’s going to give us. He’s going to do what he does. It’s our job, everybody else, to do what we’re supposed to do. The role players are the ones that are really going to win, and I’m one of those as well. The star is going to do what he does.” 

Butler continued, sharing what he calls The Art of Getting Out The Way: “Give the ball to 30, and get out the way. The talent will create the disadvantage, and I think that’s what we focused on tonight. Give the ball to Steph, get out the way, and let Steph do what he’s been doing for so many years in this league and good things happen.” 

Aliens are among us. One is known as Wemby. The other is named Wardell. You might know him as Steph.

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Steph Curry recalls lonely ‘pep talk' before huge third quarter in Warriors' win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Lock in, Dub Nation.

That’s Steph Curry’s mantra, and the Warriors star put it to good use with a 46-point performance in Golden State’s 125-120 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday at Frost Bank Center.

Curry scored 22 of those points in a red-hot third quarter — but things didn’t start out that way for the point guard. The 37-year-old shot 6 of 12 from the field and 1 of 6 from 3-point range in the first two quarters, but after he stayed out on the bench while the rest of the Warriors went in the locker room at halftime, everything changed.

“As a shooter, any time you’re missing short, you get in your head a little bit,” Curry told Bob Fitzgerald and Kelenna Azubuike about the moment on “Warriors Postgame Live” after the win. “That’s like the worst miss ever and I had about three or four of them, so I was just trying to talk to myself, you know, a little pep talk over there, get your mind right.

“But sometimes it’s nice to feel it in the arena versus in the locker room because you know you got to come back out here and do work.”

Curry’s halftime pep talk worked, and he came out firing in the second half. He scored 31 of his 46 total points across the final two frames on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, 4 of 10 from deep and a perfect 13 of 13 from the free-throw line.

That offensive explosion included a go-ahead 3-pointer in the third quarter that had Curry yelling, “Boom!” as he celebrated.

There’s no doubt the Warriors’ messaging in the locker room was exactly what the team needed to come back out and erase a 16-point deficit against the Spurs.

But sometimes, the best shooter in the world just needs to hear from himself first.

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What we learned as Kings' bad basketball continues in blowout home loss to Hawks originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SACRAMENTO — The Kings’ bad basketball continued in their final contest of a five-game homestand, falling to the Atlanta Hawks by a final score of 133-100 on Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center.

Boos poured into G1C throughout the game — and they weren’t for Atlanta.

Just one night ago, Kings coach Doug Christie called out the haters and critics of his team, vowing his team would turn things around and warned that “The Kings Show” was coming. A few hours later, the Kings lost 122-108 to the Denver Nuggets. This is after consecutive blowout losses to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Christie said his passionate pregame comments weren’t targeted at a specific individual, but rather any fans, media members or players disrespecting his squad.

The boos, which have sprinkled in here and there at times during the Kings’ early NBA season, reached a new level of loudness Wednesday.

With so many questions regarding this team now and in the immediate future, at least one thing is crystal clear: Fans are fed up.

Here are the takeaways from another deflating loss:

Dennis struggles

Schroder’s start with Sacramento hasn’t gone as anyone anticipated, to say the least.

He entered Wednesday’s game in a shooting funk, making just one of his last 19 field-goal attempts over the past three games.

He had combined for five points in those contests. On Wednesday night, he appeared to have turned things around, scoring eight points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field in nine first-quarter minutes.

But, of course, one quarter doesn’t tell the whole story.

Schroder wound up adding just one more point after that first quarter, finishing with nine points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field and 2 of 3 from long range. He was a minus-20 in 26 minutes.

Hawks let it fly from 3

Atlanta entered Wednesday’s game shooting 34.5 percent from 3-point range, good for 20th in the league.

The Hawks knocked down six treys in the first quarter alone against the Kings, with four of their five starters sinking one apiece.

Atlanta finished the game with 17 3s, and shot 42.5 percent from long range against Sacramento’s defense, which continues to struggle.

That percentage could have been much higher, too, as Hawks players tried to take advantage of a snoozing Kings defense but just missed several wide-open shots.

It’s not the first time a team that’s not known for its 3-point shooting comes into G1C and lets it rain.

And if something doesn’t change for Sacramento, it likely won’t be the last.

Offense?!?!

Christie almost is offended if any media member asks him about Sacramento’s offense.

He has made it perfectly clear that the team is focused on its defense, and knows it must improve in that area if the Kings want to win games.

But with multiple starting lineup changes, mostly because of injuries and also due to personnel, the Kings’ offense has yet to find a consistent rhythm.

Still, it was the least of Christie’s concerns after Tuesday’s loss.

“Offense? Yeah, nobody’s talking about offense,” Christie told reporters postgame. “I mean, tonight was only 108 [points] but on most nights, we’re scoring enough points. It ain’t about the offense. Guys can score the ball. There’s a lot of people that can score the basketball.

“If we want to win, we need to focus on the defense, period. … I don’t want to hear about no offense.”

Well, the Kings are 24th in the league in offensive rating and 27th — or, fourth-worst — in defensive rating so far this season.

They scored 12 points in the second quarter against the Hawks on Wednesday.

Just three seasons ago, the Kings ran a historically great offense. Now, we’re here.

It might be time to worry about the offense.

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Clippers guard Bradley Beal is done for the season. He has a hip fracture and will undergo surgery, the team announced Wednesday.

The three-time All-Star, who is expected to make a full recovery in six to nine months, played in only six games this season, averaging 8.2 points and 1.7 assists. He signed an $11-million, two-year deal with the Clippers in July after the final two years of his contract were bought out by the Phoenix Suns.

The 32-year-old was listed as out for Wednesday night's game against the Denver Nuggets because of left hip soreness. Beal previously missed games because of a left knee injury and lower back soreness.

Beal's two seasons in Phoenix were riddled by injury as well. The 14-year veteran hasn't played at least 60 games in a season since 2020-21 when he was with the Washington Wizards.

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

What we learned as Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler save Warriors in big win over Spurs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

The Warriors on Wednesday night got their first look this season at the majestic force that is 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama and didn’t blink.

With Stephen Curry firing up his offense, scoring a game- and season-high 46 points, the Warriors quieted some of the noise around them with a 125-120 victory over Wembanyama and the Spurs at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio.

Coming on the second night of a back-to-back road set, this is Golden State’s most impressive win of the season.

Jimmy Butler III contributed 28 points and eight assists, while Moses Moody tossed in 19 to give Curry plenty of offensive aid.

Wembanyama scored 27 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds but committed a game-high eight turnovers.

Here are three observations from a game that allowed the Warriors and Dub Nation at least a day to exhale:

Chef was cooking

Still recovering from a cold that forced him to miss three games, Curry found his rhythm after halftime and led the Warriors to their most productive quarter of the season.

Curry in the third quarter scored 22 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, including 3-of-5 from distance, along with 9-of-9 from the line. It was the 43rd time in his career that he scored at least 20 points in a quarter. 

Curry’s outburst provided most of the ammunition for Golden State, scoring 43 points in the quarter – it’s highest total for any quarter this season.

Curry’s 46 points came on 13-of-25 shooting from the field, including 5-of-16 from beyond the arc and 15-of-16 from the line. He was plus-3 over 34 minutes. He tied Michael Jordan for most 40-point games after turning 35 with 12. Only LeBron James (15) has more.

Lineup No. 6

Coach Steve Kerr indicated during his pregame news conference that “drastic” changes could be in store for rotations and maybe the starting lineup. He told no lies.

He turned to a first-time starting lineup: Curry and Moody at guard, Butler and rookie Will Richard and at forward, with Draymond Green at center. It’s Golden State’s sixth different starting lineup.

The most notable change was Jonathan Kuminga, the only Warrior to start the first 12 games, moving to the bench. He leads the team in minutes, rebounds and turnovers – committing at least four giveaways in four of the last seven games.

Starting Moody was a good call, as his offense was crucial. He scored 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 4-of-6 from deep, in 13 first-half minutes. He finished with 19 and was plus-2 over 26 minutes.

Richard, however, made little impact. An early-season revelation, he was scoreless, without taking a shot, did not snag a rebound in 10 first-half minutes. He finished with three points, one rebound and one assist. He was plus-1 over 22 minutes.

Quiet bench comes alive

One of the strengths of the Warriors has been their bench production. With Moody leading the way, the reserves entered the game averaging 40.2 points per game, tied for fifth in the NBA.

For much of the evening, it appeared Golden State’s bench wouldn’t come anywhere near its average, as it managed only eight points in the first half.

The wakeup call came at halftime, as the bench rallied for 15 points to finish with 23. Still below its scoring average but that, along with solid defense and considerable grit, was enough to sufficiently support Curry’s magnificence.

Kuminga’s first tour with the bench crew this season did not go well. He watched from the bench as the Warriors posted a 43-28 advantage in the third quarter and spent the entire second half as a spectator. He finished with zero points, four rebounds and was minus-10 over 12 minutes.

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Watch Warriors star Steph Curry's fired-up celly after go-ahead triple vs. Spurs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

One night after struggling in his return from an illness, Warriors star Steph Curry is all the way back.

The 3-point King lived up to his name during the third quarter of Golden State’s game against San Antonio on Wednesday at Frost Bank Arena, draining a go-ahead triple that erased the Spurs’ 16-point lead.

The Warriors guard willed Golden State to a 74-73 lead — and a much-needed one at that, as his squad looks to bounce back from an ugly loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night and a recent skid that has them at 6-6 on the 2025-26 NBA season.

Curry was on fire in the third quarter, scoring 22 points with a trio of 3-pointers.

Now, the Warriors will look to hold onto that lead and avoid their fourth loss in five games.

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Steph Curry grants young Warriors fan's wish, signs prosthetic leg before game originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Steph Curry has autographed thousands of items over his illustrious 17-year NBA career with the Warriors. 

And the generous 37-year-old just added to the long list of memorabilia in a creative, heartwarming fashion.

Curry signed a young superfan’s prosthetic leg ahead of Golden State’s matchup with the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday at Frost Bank Center.

The fan, wearing a shirt and the aforementioned prosthetic leg depicting Curry’s iconic night-night celebration, said Curry was his “favorite player” and asked the superstar for a picture; the future Hall of Fame sharpshooter took care of the rest.

Curry is no stranger to kindly offering his signature.

He often is spotted autographing jerseys after jersey at games and events, and one could scroll online for hours to see the abundance of sports cards and signature Under Armour shoes the 11-time NBA All-Star has inked.

Curry even has given his signature in the form of a permanent tattoo — as requested, of course.

A four-time NBA champion with Golden State, Curry is one of the league’s most popular players of all time. 

So while Wednesday’s demonstration might appear to be unique, it truly is a reflection of Curry’s gravity and memory-making ability across basketball, even far from home, as seen on Wednesday in the Lone Star State.

Who knows what and where Curry will be asked to sign next?

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Warriors unveil new-look starting lineup without Jonathan Kuminga vs. Spurs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Warriors coach Steve Kerr is a man of his word.

During his pregame presser before Golden State’s matchup with the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday at Frost Bank Center, Kerr told reporters it was time for changes to the Warriors’ rotation. Forty-five minutes later, Golden State unveiled its first starting lineup without forward Jonathan Kuminga since the 2025-26 NBA season began.

Kuminga is out and Moses Moody is back in, making his third start of the season after a strong showing over Golden State’s last few games. Warriors rookie Will Richard will make the second start of his young NBA career after earning the role for the first time in Golden State’s short-handed loss to the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 5.

Kerr was asked pregame if the Warriors needed to make “drastic rotational changes” given the team’s recent struggles, and the coach answered simply.

“Yes. It is,” Kerr said.

In the seven games since Golden State’s 4-1 start, the team is 2-5 and searching for answers. Veterans Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler criticized the team’s fight and commitment to winning on Tuesday night after an ugly loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Lineup changes are just a part of the season’s process, Kerr said, though Kuminga’s removal from the starting five is a stark contrast to the coach declaring the 23-year-old was entrenched as a full-time starter on Oct. 28.

“What I was saying earlier about lineup combinations, I think it’s very clear that we’ve been a little clunky recently, and I obviously watch everything and look at all the lineup data, and we have got to make some changes,” Kerr said Wednesday. “… There’s times in the season where it’s obvious you’ve got to make some changes, and it’s never any one individual’s fault. It’s all about the team, and how can we get the best out of everyone individually so that the collective is stronger.”

Kuminga started the season incredibly strong after some offseason contract drama that ended with him signing a new two-year deal worth a reported $48.5 million. The young forward now leads the team with 34 turnovers and is averaging 11.4 points over the Warriors’ last five games, down from 16.2 points per game during Golden State’s strong 4-1 stretch to start the campaign.

But the Warriors’ recent woes aren’t limited to just Kuminga, as Kerr said. The coach will continue toying with his rotations until he finds a method that helps the Warriors click — and the team certainly hopes that happens Wednesday in San Antonio.

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