SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry looked up at the crowd and took a sigh of relief after the final buzzer rang Friday night.
He had done it again.
Curry scored 18 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Warriors to a 106-101 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Curry’s red-hot start to the season continued with another heroic showing Friday. The Warriors superstar hit a 3-pointer with 1:20 left to tie the game at 98. Then, Kevon Looney, after snatching a defensive board, found a running Curry who made a reverse layup to put the Warriors up by two with less than a minute left.
Cavs center Jarrett Allen split a pair of free throws to pull the Cavaliers within one. But Curry hit a 3-pointer to pull away for the win.
Klay Thompson, who had a quiet shooting night, grabbed the victory-securing steal.
Curry has finished with 30-plus points in nine of the Warriors’ first 11 games for the first time in his career. Friday was his second consecutive game of scoring 40 or more.
The Warriors once again found themselves playing from behind, entering the fourth down by three. Jordan Poole hit a 3-pointer and Andrew Wiggins made a turnaround floater to tie the game at 81. A Looney bucket gave the Warriors an 83-81 lead with about eight minutes remaining in what was their first advantage since the beginning of the second half. But the lead couldn’t be sustained.
Both teams exchanged buckets. But the Warriors found themselves on the wrong side of the officials’ whistles.
A chorus of “Ref, you suck” chants echoed throughout the arena during a timeout with 3:36 remaining in the game after the team received a technical foul for delay of game. The cheer erupted several more times as the game came to a close.
Curry shot an efficient 15-for-23 from the field and made six of his 11 attempts from deep. He also had five rebounds and four assists.
Poole, who had been struggling the last week, rediscovered his shooting stroke Friday night. He went 6-for-13 from the field and drained four 3-pointers for 18 points. He also had two assists and four rebounds as Donte DiVincenzo was reactivated after missing eight consecutive games with a hamstring injury.
Wiggins also had another nice night. After helping Curry power the Warriors to victory Monday night with a fourth-quarter flurry, Wiggins finished with 20 points, 5 rebounds, two steals and one block.
The Warriors and Cavaliers remained neck-and-neck through most of the first half. The lead changed six times and neither team led by more than six points. The Cavaliers held a 52-48 lead heading into the break.
The Cavaliers scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter as the Warriors offense went cold. Golden State was able to turn it back on to close out the third and into the fourth. And thanks to another takeover performance by Curry, the Warriors were able to win a second straight game.
Curry has been carrying the Warriors through the first month of the season while other guys have struggled to get going. The Warriors are putting winning ahead of playing their developmental projects right now. That’s why two-way forward Anthony Lamb continues to earn rotation minutes. He scored 10 points and hit timely 3-pointers, including two in the third quarter.
While Lamb has provided a steady presence for the Warriors off the bench, the Warriors three lottery picks have seen their playing time dry up. Jonathan Kuminga played in the first quarter but sat the final three after he committed two turnovers and went 0-for-3 from the field in four minutes. Meanwhile, Moses Moody and James Wiseman didn’t make it in the game at all. This was the second consecutive game Kerr decided to not play Wiseman, whom the Warriors used their highest draft asset in 25 years on in 2020. Free-agency pickup JaMychal Green also was benched for the second consecutive game.
Kerr has stressed that he’s looking at the big picture when it comes to developing the young pool of talent. But playing a two-way player down the stretch instead of their coveted pieces is a serious problem for the Warriors whose two-timeline plan is struggling for take off.
The Warriors (5-7) play the Kings in Sacramento Sunday before turning around and hosting the San Antonio Spurs Monday for their third set of back-to-backs in two weeks.
