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Steph Curry's heroics in wins vs. Spurs sends message to Warriors teammates

Steph Curry's heroics in wins vs. Spurs sends message to Warriors teammates originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

As Stephen Curry’s teammates were celebrating him for being the blessing that he is and surely was this week in San Antonio, his performance over those two games stands as an unspoken message for the Warriors.

To his teammates: Even at age 37, I can do enough to lift us to great heights. But I’m going to need more help, as it is essential for us to reach our goal of being a serious contender.

Curry realizes none of the Warriors possess his deep box of offensive skills. There is a reason he is the only unanimous MVP award winner in league history. There is a reason he is widely considered one of the 10 best players to step onto an NBA court. It is safely assumed that he is the most influential player of his era.

But Curry also knows everyone wearing a Warriors jersey can be as committed as he is to do whatever it takes to win. Is that too much to ask?

After playing 34 minutes and scoring 46 points to lead Golden State to a 125-120 win over the Spurs on Wednesday, Curry came back on Friday to play 36 minutes, his highest total this season in a regulation game. His response was to blast the Spurs with 49 points – 31 in the second half, the last two being the clinching free throws in a 109-108 victory.

This is a man who missed three games last week with an illness.

“I think he’s fully healthy now,” Gary Payton II told reporters at Frost Bank Center. “I don’t think he’s sick anymore. It’s just good to see him out there getting his normal runs. his normal jogs, normal bounce, normal rhythm. Once he gets going, we just try to find him, try to get him open, make it easy for us.”
When Curry goes nuclear, it does make the game easier for his teammates. Their priority becomes, as Payton said, getting the ball to Steph and letting him destroy the opposing defense.

But 95 points over two games is 47.5 per, a totally unsustainable number for anybody who ever graced the NBA, aside from Wilt Chamberlain in 1962. As great as Curry is, that absurd level of production is bound to dip. And when it does, he does not want to see his teammates inspecting their fingernails.

And all he wants is for them to lend a more reliable helping hand. Because that’s what it’s going to take.

For a while on Friday, there wasn’t much aid. Curry accounted for 10 of the 18 points the Warriors scored in the first quarter and 18 of the 47 they totaled in the first half. Jimmy Butler III and Will Richard rode shotgun, each putting in 10 points. The other seven Warriors contributed seven points.

So, coach Steve Kerr turned to Curry and extended his minutes beyond what he would have liked.

“We just couldn’t really get our offense going and it felt like we were going to have to ride him a few extra minutes,” Kerr said. “We didn’t plan on playing him the whole third. I tried to take him out with about two minutes left, but there was no stoppage in play, and he played the last eight.”

Kerr had spent part of the morning addressing the team. He talked about the components of success, using the various elements of a music band as an example.

“He was in his bag in terms of the speech he gave in our pregame meeting this morning,” Curry said. “And you could tell like he still has that fastball if he needs it.”

Kerr explained how bands thrive best when every member of the touring party knows their role, accepts it and commits to it, from lead singer to guitarists to drummer to stagehands. If any member of the group isn’t focused and on point, the whole show suffers.

“But it speaks to how it all matters,” Curry said. “There’s value in all of that when a band is going on a tour. I think Phil Jackson instilled that in (Kerr), and he used that as a reference for how we need to play and how we need to approach our identity.

“It’s going to take a long time to get through this year in terms of doing that but it’s great to have a reference.”

For the Warriors to become the team they think they are, Buddy Hield, averaging 5.4 points over his last 12 games, shooting 30 percent from deep this season, will have to rejoin the band. Brandin Podziemski must be quicker at moving the ball and more careful with his decisions. Jonathan Kuminga, once healthy, will need to become the player he was in the first two weeks of the season. Al Horford must knock down triples at 37-to-40 percent.

Once they were humbled by a blowout in Oklahoma City on Tuesday, the Warriors did some soul-searching. They then landed in San Antonio late Tuesday night and spent Wednesday and Friday following Curry. He gave them what they needed.

If his teammates were watching him closely, they saw someone setting an example of a total commitment to victory. Which seems worthy of following.

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Pelicans fire coach, ex-Warriors assistant Willie Green after rough 2-10 start

Pelicans fire coach, ex-Warriors assistant Willie Green after rough 2-10 start originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Former Golden State Warriors assistant Willie Green has been dismissed by the New Orleans Pelicans just 12 games into his fifth season as head coach.

Green was part of Steve Kerr’s staff during the Warriors dynasty, helping Golden State capture back‑to‑back championships in 2017 and 2018 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

After years of observing the greatness of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, Green transitioned into a head coaching role in New Orleans.

In 2021, he brought stability to the Pelicans, guiding them to their first playoff berth since 2017‑18 by defeating the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers in the play‑in tournament. They went on to fall to the Phoenix Suns in the opening round. His time with the Pelicans was marked by flashes of promise, including a 49‑win season in 2023‑24, but also by challenges with injuries to stars like Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.

Green finished his tenure in New Orleans with a record of 150‑190 over more than four seasons.

Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars has named assistant James Borrego as interim coach. The Pelicans are set to host the Warriors on Sunday night.

Green played in the NBA from 2003 to 2015, spending most of his career with the Philadelphia 76ers (2003–2010) before stints with the New Orleans Hornets (2010–11), Atlanta Hawks (2011–12), Los Angeles Clippers (2012–14), and Orlando Magic (2014–15). He appeared in 731 games and averaged 8.3 points per contest.

After retiring, he joined the Warriors as an assistant in 2016, later helping the Suns reach the 2021 Finals before becoming head coach of the Pelicans.

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Schaefer’s Historic Night And a Controversial Call Hand Mammoth a 3-2 Overtime Loss

It was looking to be a quiet night for Matthew Schaefer against the Utah Mammoth defense.

Utah was holding Schaefer in check, only managing one shot on goal heading into overtime. He was playing tough hockey, leading the Islanders in time on ice despite awkwardly skating to the bench twice in pain, but Utah wasn’t allowing him to make an impact on the offense.

But despite all of the adversity, it was Schaefer who handed Utah Mammoth its first overtime loss of the season — all while becoming the youngest player in NHL history to score a game-winning goal in the regular season.

The lane opened for the Islanders when JJ Peterka decided to keep following New York’s Bo Horvat. Rather than switching with Lawson Crouse to pick up Schaefer, Peterka stayed behind Horvat.

But when Nate Schmidt picked up Horvat, Peterka was left without a man to guard and on the wrong side of the ice. With the sudden opening, Matthew Barzal took advantage of the 2-on-1, passed to Schaefer, and history was made.

"I think we knew we had better for sure," said Schaefer "In the second and third, we wanted to come out hard, and then we got a great bounce there to tie us up. Then we fought hard, and Barzzy (Barzal) found me. It was a great game and really hard fought."

On his way to making history, Schaefer also overtook future Hall of Famer Sidney Crosby, who previously held the record. But Crosby was a whole 31 days older when he set it; Schaefer, on the other hand, earned the mark at just 18 years and 70 days.

Never having a chance to possess the puck, the Mammoth were forced to keep covering the Islanders throughout overtime. Though Karel Vejmelka was able to save the first two shot attempts, Utah still was never able to get its own shot at scoring. 

"So, yeah, when you don't have the puck, it's all about coverage, communication, and making sure you're not getting tested," said Crouse. "Obviously, they're two great players. I mean, Horvat's got one of the better sticks in the league right now, and Barzal has incredible speed and skill and incredible passing and vision. So yeah, it's unfortunate."

Before the game even got to overtime, the Mammoth looked like it was in firm control of the game, leading 2–1 halfway through the third. But like in its 4–2 loss to Ottawa, Utah would find itself on the wrong end of yet another controversial call.

Rather than Utah having its own goal disallowed, like in the Ottawa game, this time an Islanders goal from forward Jonathan Drouin was allowed to stand despite him clearly kicking the puck toward the net.

In most cases, any time a puck is scored with a kicking motion, the goal is disallowed. But as explained in the NHL's own video review, Schmidt was seen touching the puck just before it crossed the goal line and it was deemed that his "stick propelled the puck into his own net."

The NHL does acknowledge that Drouin does indeed kick the puck as well, but because the puck touched Schmidt’s stick, the goal was still allowed to stand.

"It's an instinctual thing," said Schmidt. "In hindsight, do I wish I would have pulled my stick back so they would have called it back? Yeah, but that's gonna be really hard for me to do. You're trying to get it out then I almost step on Vejmelka in the process."

While the goal was allowed to stand in this game, there is still a compelling argument that says the goal should have been disallowed. 

As rule 37.4 of the NHL's official rules stats, "A goal cannot be scored on a play where an attacking Player propels the puck with his skate into the net (even by means of a subsequent deflection off of another Player) using a 'distinct kicking motion.'"

When watching the replay, it’s clear that Schmidt’s stick only touches the puck for a brief second. He never gains possession, and the puck hardly alters its path even after touching his stick. Saying Schmidt propelled the puck in feels like a bit of a stretch considering the path of the puck never changes direction.

Ironically, if Schmidt hadn’t touched the puck at all, the goal would have been disallowed without a second thought. But instead, Utah found itself tied at 2–2, with the referees’ call proving to be costly.

Though the Mammoth still came away with a point in the standings, it was a tough way to lose, considering it has only managed two wins against the Buffalo Sabres in its last eight games.

To make matters worse, Utah looked like the better team for the majority of the night, albeit with another rough performance on the power play, going 1-for-6. But even then, Utah was able to break a seven-game drought without a power-play goal.

And with its next game against an impressive Anaheim Ducks team on the road, Utah will have to fight hard to get out of its recent funk.

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Graham Ike scores 20 points and No. 19 Gonzaga outlasts Arizona State 77-65

Graham Ike scored 20 points, Tyon Grant-Foster had 14 points and 12 rebounds off the bench, and No. 19 Gonzaga outlasted Arizona State 77-65 on Friday night. Up 13 at halftime, Gonzaga struggled offensively through most of the second half as the aggressive Sun Devils (2-1) trimmed the margin to five. The Zags kept Arizona State at bay behind their defense and consecutive 3-pointers by former Sun Devils guard Adam Miller that pushed the lead to 67-52.