Steph Curry Shares How Draymond Green Ejection ‘lit A Fire' For Warriors In Win

Steph Curry shares how Draymond Green ejection ‘lit a fire' for Warriors in win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Steph Curry says Draymond Green’s ejection did exactly what it looked like it did: it lit a fire under the Warriors.

Green was thrown out early in the third quarter of Monday’s game against the Phoenix Suns at Chase Center, after he shoved Suns center Khaman Maluach to the ground beneath the rim and then scuffled with Dillon Brooks, earning two technical fouls. Golden State trailed 67-57 at the time. The Warriors then scored 42 points in the third quarter to tie the game, and Curry had 18 of them, on the way to a 116-113 win and a fifth straight victory.

Curry credited Green for setting the tone, even in his absence.

“We know what he brings, and he lit a fire underneath us to respond,” Curry told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke on “Warriors Postgame Live” after the win. “Once he goes out, it’s on us to pick up the slack. Play competitive basketball with that same toughness.”

Curry had been quiet before that. He scored nine points on 2-of-7 shooting in the first half, then made a 3-pointer 15 seconds into the third quarter and scored 18 points in eight-plus minutes. He finished with a game-high 34 points, his third straight game with at least 31. Curry said the credit belongs to more than him.

“Obviously, like you said, I got it going, but it was [Charles] Bassey, [De’Anthony] Melton, [Brandin Podziemski], [Yaxel Lendeborg], everybody,” Curry added. “Will Richard, another game where he comes in and is just disruptive on defense, and by committee everybody showed up.”

The depth showed. Charles Bassey scored a career-high 19 points off the bench, Brandin Podziemski added 20, and Yaxel Lendeborg followed his 37-point game against the Clippers with 16 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Curry also pointed to the circumstances. Curry and Green had rested the night before, but many of their teammates were playing the second night of a back-to-back, and Phoenix was coming in rested.

“It was a combination of that moment, we got to have our brother’s back when he defends us, but it was also understanding that this was one of those games where most of the guys were on a back-to-back and Phoenix had been off for a couple of days, they started 1-3, so we knew they were going to come out playing desperate,” Curry said. “They played unbelievable in the first half, so we just tried to, as they say, weather the storm, just execute.”

The Warriors erased a 17-point deficit and won without Green for most of the night. After an 0-3 start, they now have the five-game win streak they never had last season.

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