Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry leapt to the defence of team-mate Jordan Poole after their defeat to the LA Lakers.
The Warriors were beaten 104-101 in their Game Four match of the Western Conference semi-finals on Monday. The defeat leaves Curry and his team-mates trailing 3-1 in the series ahead of Game Five in San Francisco on Wednesday.
Curry managed to score 31 points with 14 assists and 10 rebounds, but could not prevent the Warriors from ending up on the losing side. LeBron James scored 27 points, while Anthony Davis (23) and Austin Reaves (21) racked up decent points to contribute towards the win for the Lakers.
By contrast, Poole struggled against the Lakers in Game Four as he failed to score a single point in the 10 minutes he was on the court. That means he has now scored just 32 points in the four games so far in the series against the Lakers.
Poole’s performances have led to some criticism aimed his way in sections of the press. But his team-mate, Curry, has defended the guard and says the whole Warriors roster should take responsibility for how the series is going so far.
"We get questions about him a lot, and our whole team, we're in this together in the sense of trying to figure out how to win playoff games," Curry told reporters, via NBC Sports. "We all have to make adjustments.
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“We all have to play better considering we're in a 3-1 hole. So there's no sense in isolating him in this situation. It's all about collective, what can we all do to be better.
"The conversations we have in the film sessions, on the bench, in the locker room are all consistent throughout the season, especially in this playoff run of trying to answer that question. So he's a part of that. We're all a part of that. And if we're going to get out of this hole, we all have to play better."
The Warriors will need to claim a win over the Lakers in Game Five in order to keep the series alive. The winner of the series will face either the Denver Nuggets or the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference semi-finals later this month.
In the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat lead 3-1 in their semi-final series against the New York Knicks. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers are drawing 2-2 with the Boston Celtics going into their Game Five matches.
