Steph Curry sparks return victory over Wizards – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

BOX score

Stephen Curry had 24 points and six assists in his return from a three-game injury absence, and the Warriors topped the Washington Wizards 125-112 on Monday night.

Buddy Hield scored 20 points, Draymond Green had another all-around game (18 points, eight rebounds, five assists) and Jonathan Kuminga added 15 points and six rebounds, Trayce Jackson-Davis had 12 points and Moses Moody had 10.

Golden State's fourth straight victory pushed the Warriors' record to 6-1, their best start to the season since winning 11 of their first 12 games to start the 2021-22 season.

It was also a milestone evening for Steve Kerr, who was training his 800^Th game in the regular season, joining Al Attles as the only two men to reach that plateau with the Warriors.

Kerr has repeatedly praised the quality of this year's Golden State team, and it was the same this year. The Warriors' bench held a 50-33 point advantage at Capital One Arena, marking the sixth time in seven games that Golden State's reserves scored 50 or more.

This marks the first time the Warriors' bench has scored 50 or more goals six times in a seven-game span since starters were first tracked in 1970-71.

The only downside came early in the second half when Brandin Podziemski, who started the third quarter in place of Curry, was taken to the locker room. Team officials later said Podziemski was not feeling well.

The Warriors led 54-45 at halftime after Curry sank a 3-pointer. They extended the lead to 12 early in the fourth quarter and then held off a brief advance by the Wizards to secure the win.

Steph passes JP to end the half 🤩 pic.twitter.com/w7YRq61qmB

– Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 5, 2024

Former Warrior Jordan Poole scored 24 points for Washington.

Here are the takeaways from Monday's game:

The chef is back

No matter how well the Warriors played while Curry recovered from his ankle injury, their overall confidence and skills improve dramatically when the two-time NBA MVP is on the court and cooking.

Curry wasn't exactly at his best – he missed four straight shots after opening the game with a 3-pointer and shot 7 of 15 – which wasn't surprising after three games. Still, he came back, had a strong third quarter (15 points) and scored 24 minutes

The spacing and flow of Golden State's offense were also much crisper. With the Wizards having to respect Curry's shots, the inside game opened up and the Warriors took full advantage, scoring 50 points in the game.

Warriors fans got a scare when Curry wasn't in the starting lineup in the second half, but any fears they might have had quickly vanished when he looked just fine five minutes into the third quarter and immediately took an open corner kick destroyed with a 3-point throw.

Buddy buckets are popping out

Golden State's leading scorer and best 3-point shooter — no, not Curry — got off to a bit of a slow start before finding his form to lead the Warriors' perimeter attack.

Hield, who entered the night second in the NBA in three-point scoring, shot from the field and scored eight points to pace the Warriors in the first half. He finished the night shooting 7 of 14 and was plus-14.

While it's still a little early, Hield has been everything the Warriors hoped for and more when they signed him in the offseason to fill the shooting void left by Klay Thompson's departure to Dallas.

Tough guy for Wiggs

Andrew Wiggins had a solid start to the season before being forced to miss two games with a back strain. Since his return, the former No. 1 overall draft pick has had major issues with his shot.

Two days after missing six of nine shots in the Warriors' overtime win over the Houston Rockets, Wiggs was unable to find a rhythm on offense. He missed his first seven shots and went scoreless in the first half, then finished the game 1 of 9 overall.

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