Steph Curry's shooting touch dazzles the crowd at exhibition game in Japan
TOKYO -- After a dismal 1-for-7 shooting night in the exhibition season opener, Warriors star Steph Curry found his stroke Sunday and helped by a fourth quarter rally from the team's reserves kept Golden State unbeaten in the preseason with a 104-95 victory over Washington in a game played in Tokyo.
Like in the opener, the Warriors showed the rust from their short off-season after winning their fourth NBA title in eight years. They had 22 turnovers and trailed the Wizards well into the 4th quarter.
Curry hit on 7-13 shots, 3-8 from 3-point range, to score a team-high 17 points in just about 17 minutes of play. His running mate, Klay Thompson, did not play by design while Jordan Poole added 7 points, Andrew Wiggins tossed in 10 points and Draymond Green filled each box of the stat sheet with 6 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds.
But the story of this game and a bright spot for the team's fortunes this season was the play of the youngsters who will need to contribute this year.
Trialing by as much as16 points in the second half, the bench rallied the team as Golden State outscored Washington 30-10 in the fourth quarter.
Patrick Baldwin Jr., who tumbled in the NBA Draft because of concerns over a leg injury that limited his play during his only season of college ball, again showed he may end up being one of the young surprises of the season.
He followed up on a 2-for-4 shooting night in limited time in the opener by scoring 12 points and pulling down 6 rebounds on Sunday in about 17 minutes of play. In two games, he is 6-of-9 from 3-point range, showing a deep shooting touch valued by the team trying to replace the departed Otto Porter Jr.
Second-year guard Moses Moody also had a big night hitting on 5-of-10 shoots for 12 points.