NBA
“He just knows how to play” Warriors’ Stephen Curry delivers statement on Gary Payton II’s performance following win vs Spurs
The Golden State Warriors managed to bag a huge win over the San Antonio Spurs at Chase Center last night with great contributions from the star duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
The Warriors hosted the Spurs, but they didn’t earn the victory without any sweat. For the first three quarters, they fought neck-to-neck, but eventually, the host kept a 16-point lead in the last quarter, which made the scoreline 130-115 in favor of the host.
With an influential performance, Stephen didn’t forget to express his gratitude in the postgame press conference, even for the new recruit, Gary Payton II.
What did Stephen Curry say about Gary Payton II?
The 35-year-old veteran point guard acknowledged every bit of contribution from his teammates in the crucial situation for the franchise. Especially praised Gary and said, “Like we talked about when the trade happened and the build-up to him coming back, he just knows how to play.”
“Knows how to make winning plays. Finds himself in the right place on both ends. Some of the stuff that doesn’t show up in the stat sheet,” the reigning MVP continued. “His ball pressure. Just his overall presence. So, he had a big three in the corner and got a big steal as soon as he came in.”
“Got us a couple of extra possessions offensive rebounds. So, it’s just the little things that you can trust that he’s going to make those plays, and he also gets the crowd involved,” the nine-time NBA all-star concluded.
It’s true that every action or contribution doesn’t make stats, and players like Curry can feel the little nudge that ends up in a huge favor for any team. Just like last night, the 30-year-old scored only seven points with one assist, but his eight rebounds in 18 minutes of play were a vital contribution to the victory.
The 6.3-footer also scored 33 points with two rebounds and five assists and brought the game home, which made their position more solid. They are the sixth seed in the Western Conference with a .526 record, and they have four more games to secure the spot.
