SAN FRANCISCO — Jordan Poole needed this game. His team craved it.
Ever since Steph Curry returned to the lineup on March 5, Poole had been in a funk coming off the bench. He’s used to yo-yo’ing back and forth from the starting lineup over the past couple seasons, but it’s still an adjustment each time.
In the previous 10 contests before Friday night, since Curry knocked him back to a reserve role, Poole was averaging just 14.9 points per game on 39 percent shooting and 32.8 percent from 3-point land. He has lacked focus at times, been slow on defense and made lazy fouls out of frustration, showing some subpar body language along the way.
His usually stellar offense had also gone MIA since Steph returned, but Poole showed up big time Friday night. Buoyed by a 19-point fourth-quarter explosion, Poole played his best game in more than three weeks, dropping 33 points in a 120-112 Warriors victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
“Opportunity,” Poole said of the fourth-quarter flurry. “Just being able to get a stretch like that, catch my rhythm, be aggressive, look for my shot, as opposed to coming in and trying to figure out what the rhythm of the game is.”
Poole has historically been a streaky shooter in his career, but the Warriors are hoping he can get back to being the guy who scored at least 20 points in 17 straight games last year. On Friday night, he fizzled up like a bottle of champagne before finally bursting in the final period.
As MVP candidate Joel Embiid bullied his way to 46 points – and with James Harden (left achilles soreness) sidelined – Philadelphia built a nine-point lead early in the fourth quarter. That’s about when Poole decided to take over, scoring seven straight points for the Dubs, including a 3-pointer and a dunk.
His trifecta with 1:18 left gave the Dubs a five-point lead and helped them get a late choke hold on the game. Afterwards, he bounded up and down the court uncontrollably before high-fiving a front row fan.
The scene looked cathartic for Poole, who hasn’t progressed as hoped after signing a four-year, $123 million contract this past offseason. The flashes of greatness are there, but so is the inconsistency. The Good Poole showed up Friday night, as he went 10-of-19 from the floor, 6-of-11 from 3-point land and 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
Even when Poole didn’t make the bucket, good things came when he created rim pressure. Midway through the fourth quarter, a drive from Poole led to an Embiid block and an easy putback for Kevon Looney, his fellow ironman from Milwaukee. The two shared a nice moment in the midst of the madness.
Poole and Curry ended up playing all 12 minutes in the fourth quarter as the Warriors mounted their comeback. Along the way, Poole made some high difficulty shots while evading the tall trees like Embiid.
“Steph was just telling me to be aggressive, keep going,” Poole said.
After the game, Draymond Green was raving about Poole’s effort on the defensive side of the floor, too.
“Also on the defensive end, he was incredible,” Green said. “That’s one of the next steps for JP and his growth is locking down on that side of the ball. And it’s not that you have to be a lockdown defender either. Just give consistent effort on that end and he’s growing as a young guy in this league, and he’s starting to give more and more consistent effort.”
The Sixers eventually resorted to an Embiid-or-bust offensive strategy but he couldn’t do it on his own. The big man hit some really tough shots and scored 15 of his team’s 24 points in the final period, but Golden State (41 points) came to life down the stretch. Embiid went 13-of-23 from the field and 19-of-22 from the free throw line and told Draymond why he was playing such inspired ball after the game.
“He told me,’ he said, ‘You know why I played like that tonight? You said Joker (Nikola Jokic) was the hardest person to guard in this league, so I took that personally.’” Green said laughing. “So I’m gonna tell you all that Joel is the hardest guy to guard in the league.”
The mood is light again around Golden State after its third straight win. The Warriors (39-36) are currently in the No. 6 seed in the West but have pulled within percentage points of the No. 5 seed Phoenix Suns (38-35) and are just a half-game back of the No. 4 seed Los Angeles Clippers (39-35).
To make another title run, the Warriors will need to Poole to show up like he did Friday night.
“It’s that time of year,” Draymond said. “You gotta turn everything up a notch.”
