– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
WASHINGTON — As much fun and gratifying as it was winning games without their undisputed floor general, the Golden State Warriors sure didn’t mind welcoming back Steph Curry back into the fold as they continued their victorious ways.
Curry scored 24 points, including 16 in the second half, upon his return from an ankle injury, as the Warriors coasted to a 125-112 victory over the Washington Wizards inside Capital One Arena on Monday night. Buddy Hield added 20 off the bench, one of three reserves who scored in double figures, as Golden State won its fourth straight game before its showdown in Boston against the defending champion Celtics on Wednesday night.
Three of those four consecutive wins for the Warriors came without Curry, who suffered a mild ankle sprain on October 27 in a home loss against the Clippers. It didn’t take long for Curry to get back his stroke during game action, hitting a three-pointer on Golden State’s first possession of the game. His next field goal did not come until the very end of the first half, when his corner three right before the second-quarter buzzer gave the Warriors a 54-45 lead going into intermission.
Washington’s extremely young starting lineup kept up with the more experienced Warriors, shaving a 15-point deficit down to six before Curry’s halftime buzzer-beater, and then scored 36 points in the third. However, Curry also came alive in the third as he made 5-of-7 shots from the field, including two three-pointers, as the Warriors scored 39 in the third quarter on almost 61 percent shooting to extend their lead to double digits, 93-81, going into the game’s final 12 minutes.
Curry only played five minutes in the fourth, but it was the Warriors bench that kept the Wizards at arm’s length, with six of the team’s eight made field goals in the final frame coming from their reserves. Golden State’s bench outscored the Wizards’ 60-33, and the Warriors have averaged an edge of 24 points per game in bench points during the season.
Former Warrior Jordan Poole led all Wizards scorers with 24 points, while Kyshawn George had 20. The two combined to go 8-for-27 from three, as Washington made just 10 of its 43 three-point attempts as a team.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Monday evening’s game, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Yusuf Abdullah. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page, Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 21 pictures in total.
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
