Analysis: How Steph Curry’s first career walk-off shot sealed Warriors’ comeback to beat Rockets

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Chef Curry with the shot, boy!

Tied at 103 with 5.3 seconds left in regulation, Curry got the ball. He dribbled left, pulled up and elevated over a Houston defender. Forget the fact that he couldn’t seem to buy a basket on credit for most of the night. Forget the fact that he had dead legs from the prior night’s overtime loss.

None of it mattered. This moment to steal a game from the teeth of defeat was there and he took it all with the flick of his wrist.

“It’s just how the game kind of goes. I’ve hit some shots that were 0.1, 0.4 seconds or whatever… big shots,” Curry shared after his first career game-winner with time expiring. “It’s a different feeling when it’s a walk-off. It’s good to know what that feels like.”

The Golden State Warriors had no business winning this game against the Rockets. Their energy was sapped from the night before but they found a way to fight back.

Here are some observations from the Warriors’ gutsy 105-103 win.

Tired defense finds discipline

In the Warriors’ overtime loss against Indiana on Thursday, their defense was undisciplined. They couldn’t stop fouling and there were multiple blown assignments. Against the Rockets, the defense fell flat.

The Warriors didn’t pressure the Rockets enough on the perimeter and certainly not in the paint. The Rockets feasted on backdoor cuts and pretty much got any shot they wanted at the rim.

However, as the game progressed, the Warriors’ defense picked up in the second half and made timely stops to chip away at the Rockets’ lead. Those stops led to threes in transition as well as points in the paint.

Third-quarter turn-up

The Warriors found enough energy after halftime to make a push for the win. In the third quarter, the defense, after giving up many backdoor cuts in the first half, began to pick up as they turned up the pressure on the perimeter as well as in the paint. As usual, the Warriors’ defense tuned into offense as they outrebounded and out-hustled Houston down the stretch.

“We were able to capitalize a little bit on a couple of big possessions in the third quarter down the stretch,” Jordan Poole said after the win. “We were just playing off each other. We had a really good flow going. Otto (Porter Jr.) hit some big shots and (Kevon Looney) was really big down there in the post. He made a lot of big players and so did (Andrew Wiggins). We were able to find a good rhythm in the third quarter and made a really good push.”

They won the quarter 33-22 to erase an 11-point halftime deficit.

The Warriors overcame a lethargic first half to outrebound the Rockets 41-39 in the game and had 9 blocks with most of those efforts coming in the third.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – January 21: Golden State Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins (22) dribbles against Houston Rockets’ Jalen Green (0) in the second quarter of a NBA game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

Cathartic release

On the surface, this was a regular-season game in January and the second game of a back-to-back. This may not matter in the macro view of the season but in the moment, this game counts and matters.  Despite being second in the West, the Warriors have been stuck in a rut for a few weeks.

They’ve struggled offensively and without Draymond Green the last two weeks, there have been defensive struggles.

For most of the game, Curry couldn’t find the basket. He missed his first eight shots before draining a long three close to the end of the first half. He had the looks. The shots were clean for the most part. However, the legs weren’t there. But he and the Warriors kept clawing. Kept scrapping. Kept chipping away until they won.

The Warriors exploded in celebration after Curry’s drained the first walk-off game-winner in his career. In that celebration was a release of frustration about their struggle. Of not playing up to their standards. During this rough patch, the Warriors needed this win. They needed to soak in the moment of overcoming adversity and to remember how tough it is at times to win in the league.

“We have been struggling a bit as of late,”  Looney shared postgame. “We struggled a bit in that game and we fought back. We fought hard and Steph hit an amazing shot. One of those shots you dream about in the driveway, in a walk-off game-winner. To celebrate with him is an amazing feeling. Hopefully that can carry over and we can start playing some better basketball.”

Iso Steph

When the Warriors decide to play Curry on ball, good things generally happen. As great as he is, running and creating chaos off the ball, the Warriors benefit the most with the ball in his hands. The last play of the game was a clear example of that.

“It was a play that we drew up to try and keep it a little more simple than we did last night where we had a lot of action, and a lot of screens and a lot of traffic,” Curry said of the last shot. “I was kind of the main option, but not the first option if that makes sense. Obviously, I didn’t move until I’m going to go get the ball. We tried to create some distractions that hopefully would give me space. And then from there, It’s just staying calm and knowing you have five seconds to get one shot up, and just trying to get a good look and live with it.

“Thankfully, I did.”

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – January 21: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) scores a jumper against Houston Rockets’ Kevin Porter (3) to win the game 105-103 in the last seconds of the fourth quarter of a NBA game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

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