Analysis: How Steph Curry’s first career walk-off shot sealed Warriors’
comeback to beat Rockets
Warriors come back to beat Rockets with Steph Curry's first career
game-winner with time expiring
>SAN FRANCISCO, CA – January 21: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry
(30) celebrates after scorning a game winning shot against Houston
Rockets in the last second of the fourth quarter to win 105-103 in a NBA
game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022.
(Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
>SAN FRANCISCO, CA – January 21: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry
(30) celebrates after scorning a game winning shot against Houston
Rockets in the last second of the fourth quarter to win 105-103 in a NBA
game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022.
(Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)
By JANNELLE MOORE |
PUBLISHED: January 22, 2022 at 9:14 a.m. | UPDATED: January 23, 2022 at
5:08 a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/01/22/analysis-how-steph-currys-first-career-walk-off-shot-sealed-warriors-comeback-to-beat-rockets/

Stephen Curry has hit all sorts of shots in his 13 seasons with the
Warriors, but he unlocked a new one Friday night.

Tied at 103 with 5.3 seconds left in regulation, Curry got the ball. He
dribbled left, pulled up and elevated over a Houston defender. Forget
the fact that he couldn’t seem to buy a basket on credit for most of the
night. Forget the fact that he had dead legs from the prior night’s
overtime loss.

None of it mattered. This moment to steal a game from the teeth of
defeat was there and he took it all with the flick of his wrist.

“It’s just how the game kind of goes. I’ve hit some shots that were 0.1,
0.4 seconds or whatever… big shots,” Curry shared after his first career
game-winner with time expiring. “It’s a different feeling when it’s a
walk-off. It’s good to know what that feels like.”

--
NBA
@NBA
🚨 STEPHEN CURRY CALLS GAME 🚨

His #TissotBuzzerBeater lifts the @warriors! #ThisIsYourTime
[video]

9:38 PM · Jan 21, 2022
Read the full conversation on Twitter
11.5K Reply Share
--

The Golden State Warriors had no business winning this game against the
Rockets. Their energy was sapped from the night before but they found a
way to fight back.

Here are some observations from the Warriors’ gutsy 105-103 win.

- Tired defense finds discipline

In the Warriors’ overtime loss against Indiana on Thursday, their
defense was undisciplined. They couldn’t stop fouling and there were
multiple blown assignments. Against the Rockets, the defense fell flat.

The Warriors didn’t pressure the Rockets enough on the perimeter and
certainly not in the paint. The Rockets feasted on backdoor cuts and
pretty much got any shot they wanted at the rim.

However, as the game progressed, the Warriors’ defense picked up in the
second half and made timely stops to chip away at the Rockets’ lead.
Those stops led to threes in transition as well as points in the paint.

- Third-quarter turn-up

The Warriors found enough energy after halftime to make a push for the
win. In the third quarter, the defense, after giving up many backdoor
cuts in the first half, began to pick up as they turned up the pressure
on the perimeter as well as in the paint. As usual, the Warriors’
defense tuned into offense as they outrebounded and out-hustled Houston
down the stretch.

“We were able to capitalize a little bit on a couple of big possessions
in the third quarter down the stretch,” Jordan Poole said after the win.
“We were just playing off each other. We had a really good flow going.
Otto (Porter Jr.) hit some big shots and (Kevon Looney) was really big
down there in the post. He made a lot of big players and so did (Andrew
Wiggins). We were able to find a good rhythm in the third quarter and
made a really good push.”

They won the quarter 33-22 to erase an 11-point halftime deficit.

The Warriors overcame a lethargic first half to outrebound the Rockets
41-39 in the game and had 9 blocks with most of those efforts coming in
the third.

>SAN FRANCISCO, CA – January 21: Golden State Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins
(22) dribbles against Houston Rockets’ Jalen Green (0) in the second
quarter of a NBA game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on
Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

- Cathartic release

On the surface, this was a regular-season game in January and the second
game of a back-to-back. This may not matter in the macro view of the
season but in the moment, this game counts and matters. Despite being
second in the West, the Warriors have been stuck in a rut for a few weeks.

They’ve struggled offensively and without Draymond Green the last two
weeks, there have been defensive struggles.

For most of the game, Curry couldn’t find the basket. He missed his
first eight shots before draining a long three close to the end of the
first half. He had the looks. The shots were clean for the most part.
However, the legs weren’t there. But he and the Warriors kept clawing.
Kept scrapping. Kept chipping away until they won.

>RELATED ARTICLES
Klay Thompson ‘questionable’ to play Warriors’ game against Dallas
Jannelle Moore on the Warriors: Getting defensive without Draymond
Klay Thompson a late scratch for Warriors’ game vs. Utah Jazz
Andre Iguodala misses 3rd game of Warriors’ past 4
Jannelle Moore on the Warriors: The change in Klay Thompson’s game

The Warriors exploded in celebration after Curry’s drained the first
walk-off game-winner in his career. In that celebration was a release of
frustration about their struggle. Of not playing up to their standards.
During this rough patch, the Warriors needed this win. They needed to
soak in the moment of overcoming adversity and to remember how tough it
is at times to win in the league.

“We have been struggling a bit as of late,” Looney shared postgame. “We
struggled a bit in that game and we fought back. We fought hard and
Steph hit an amazing shot. One of those shots you dream about in the
driveway, in a walk-off game-winner. To celebrate with him is an amazing
feeling. Hopefully that can carry over and we can start playing some
better basketball.”

- Iso Steph

When the Warriors decide to play Curry on ball, good things generally
happen. As great as he is, running and creating chaos off the ball, the
Warriors benefit the most with the ball in his hands. The last play of
the game was a clear example of that.

“It was a play that we drew up to try and keep it a little more simple
than we did last night where we had a lot of action, and a lot of
screens and a lot of traffic,” Curry said of the last shot. “I was kind
of the main option, but not the first option if that makes sense.
Obviously, I didn’t move until I’m going to go get the ball. We tried to
create some distractions that hopefully would give me space. And then
from there, It’s just staying calm and knowing you have five seconds to
get one shot up, and just trying to get a good look and live with it.

“Thankfully, I did.”

>SAN FRANCISCO, CA – January 21: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry
(30) scores a jumper against Houston Rockets’ Kevin Porter (3) to win
the game 105-103 in the last seconds of the fourth quarter of a NBA game
at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022.
(Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

--
Jannelle Moore | Guest Analyst