The Golden State Warriors defeated the Washington Wizards, 129—118, on Friday night at the Chase Center behind 30 points and eight three-pointers from Stephen Curry.
Ho hum.
But the Warriors’ victory featured an interesting twist in the final seconds, as Wizards guard Ryan Rollins drained a meaningless three-pointer with 1.1 seconds left on the clock, cutting Golden State’s winning margin to 11 points. The triple by Rollins, who played for the Warriors last season, was significant as it allowed the Wizards, 11.5-point underdogs coming into the game, to cover the point spread.
Judging by the reactions of guards Gary Payton II and Chris Paul on the Golden State bench, the Warriors knew just how impactful that late three by Rollins was for bettors.
Ryan Rollins hits a meaningless 3 at the buzzer to give the Wizards the +11.5 cover. Look at the Warriors bench 😂😂😂
— TheWarriorsTalk (@TheWarriorsTalk) December 23, 2023
pic.twitter.com/Wpqlk0hS8g
Payton appeared utterly astounded, staring up at the scoreboard as if he had just seen a ghost, a reaction that everyone who took Golden State minus-11.5 can relate to. Paul, meanwhile, was spotted on camera chuckling as Curry, wearing a towel covering his face, appeared to be doubled over as he leaned against Payton.
There’s no way to know for certain that the Warriors were reacting to the Wizards’ backdoor cover, but it sure does seem like they knew a bad beat when they saw one.
