January 22, (THEWILL) – Stephen Curry scored 22 points and led the Golden State Warriors to a 105-103 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday night, hitting a game-winning 20-foot shot from the top of the key to beat the final buzzer.
Curry danced near midcourt while pumping his arms and exhaling after missing two 3-pointers in the last 1:48 of the game. After 6,689 field goals in his 13-year career, this is his first ever career game-winning buzzer-beating shot.
Curry overcame a sluggish start to help the Warriors bounce back from an embarrassing loss to Indiana the night before. He also had 12 assists on the night.
With 11.5 seconds left and the game tied at 103, Houston held the ball, but Garrison Mathews missed a three and Otto Porter Jr. grabbed the rebound before a Warriors timeout.
With 3:38 remaining, Porter Jr’s driving slam pulled Golden State within 101-99.
Curry missed his first eight attempts, going 0 for 5 in the first quarter with only one free throw, before hitting his first field goal 48.8 seconds before halftime with a 3-pointer. Golden State trailed 54-43 at halftime before tying the game at 76 in the fourth quarter.
With four 3s, the reigning scoring champion shot 6 for 21. Following a 121-117 overtime loss to the Pacers on Thursday night, Andrew Wiggins contributed 17 points for the Warriors.
Jordan Poole scored 20 points in his return to the starting lineup, youngster Jonathan Kuminga came off the bench, while Klay Thompson sat out the second consecutive game.
Poole was clobbered in the face by Mathews with 1:17 left in the third, a play that was called a Flagrant 1 foul after review.
Golden State rallied with a 33-point third quarter a day after shooting a dreadful 9 for 42 from 3-point range and coach Steve Kerr blaming himself for not having the squad prepared to face a Pacers team that was missing three starters due to injury.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
