Tough loss. The thing that hurts more is how the Warriors lost this game. A dumb foul and a horribly executed play made the Dubs move to 24/28 and only one game ahead of the Pelicans.
The first quarter was all Wizards. Led by Hachimura (13 points in the 1st) they took a 9 point lead at the end with a Bertans 3. Curry had 13 points in the 1st, and James Wiseman had 6 but nobody else helped.
In the 2nd, the Warriors stayed in the game. But Robin Lopez did a huge quarter, with 12 points and dominating Golden State in the paint. At the end of the first half, the Washington centers had combined for 26 points and the Wizards were leading by 7 at the end of the 2nd. Kelly Oubre actually played great and he led the Warriors in the 2nd with 7 points.
In the 3rd quarter, the Warriors came out ready to come back. And halfway through the 3rd, they went on a 14-0 run to take a 5 point lead. But the Wizards answered and they also went on a run, a 15-4 one to take a 6 point lead at the end of the 3rd.
But in the 4th and last quarter, the 2nd unit did a terrific job, led by Wiseman, who had 8 points in the first 4 minutes, and the Dubs had the lead when Curry came back. But the Wizards didn't give up, and as weird as this sounds, I have to say it. The Warriors played so much better without Steph on the court. The 2nd unit were playing with more energy, and they made a big effort to win. But the Wizards again went on a run to take the lead, and there Wiggins had a horrible sequence. He missed two free throws and then he missed a wide open 3. With 2 minutes remaining, Washington had a 5 point lead and the Warriors made one last push to win it. Steph took the lead with a layup and then he made 2 clutch FT to give the Warriors a 3 point lead with 20 seconds remaining.
It looked nearly imposible that the Wizards could take the win, but the Warriors made 2 big mistakes. The first, something that doesn't bother me that much, is that they didn't foul to send the Wizards to the line. When you have Steph Curry on your team, you shouldn't be very worried about those clutch free throws. Then, the Warriors fouled, but on a 3 pointer that was made. So, well, Beal made the free throw and Washington took the lead. But there was still a lot of time on the clock, and the Warriors had one more chance. But a play that was supossed to end on a Damion Lee layup, ended on a turnover. Beal made another 2 free throws, to make a 3 point game with 1.2 remaining. They went to Curry, but the Wizards played great defense, and Steph didn't even got it off in time.
Stats: Steph Curry had his 4th straight 30 point game, this time with 32, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. He was helped by Kelly Oubre, who had 23 points on 62% from the field, and 6 rebounds. The rookie, James Wiseman, had an amazing game, with 18 points (9 from 11 from the field) and 6 rebounds. Andrew Wiggins had 15 points, shooting 7 from 8 for 2, but he missed 3 free throws and he was 0 from 5 from downtown. Damion Lee had 10 points, leading the 2nd unit. Jordan Poole had a terrible game tho, he had 0 points from 0 from 4 from the field.
The Wizards won this game collectively. Three players score 20+ and 5 players scored on double figures. Hachimura was Washington's leading scorer with 22. Bradley Beal had only 3 points on the first half, but he made 17 more in the second to finish with 20. Russell Westbrook had a triple double, with 19 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists. Robin Lopez had 16 points in the 1st half, but he only had 4 in the second. Still, 20 points and 8 rebounds is amazing for him. Alex Len helped, he made 15 points.
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