Steph Curry’s fourth quarter performances are becoming a topic of discussion during the early part of the 2021-22 Warriors season. After being held scoreless in the fourth quarter during wins against the Sacramento Kings and Oklahoma City Thunder, Curry was once again held to zero points after the third quarter in Thursday’s 104-101 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Curry dropped 36 points and is still averaging 30.4 points per game, which is tied with Ja Morant for the top mark in the league. But in an effort that rekindled memories of May’s play-in game, Morant carried Memphis to an impressive overtime win at Chase Center Thursday.
Curry went 0-for-6, including 0-for-5 from 3-point range, after the third quarter and missed a potential game-winner to end regulation, when he rimmed out a 33-foot attempt after getting the ball from Draymond Green on an inbounds pass.
“The last two shots in regulation, obviously the last one, the game-winner, looked good,” Curry said. “Those are two shots I'd take every day of the week. Overtime, I think I pressed a little bit, maybe settled a little bit, especially when I didn't have it going from 3.”
He’s human, after all.
Curry has put on some otherworldly performances this season and the Warriors were going to lose eventually. By no means is this loss all on Curry.
Green also had an incharacteriscally error-filled game, the Warriors turned the ball over 22 times with some careless ball handling and passing, and Jordan Poole was held to nine points in a season-low 24 minutes. The Warriors led by as many as 19 points in the second quarter before letting up against the Grizzlies, who were on the second leg of a back-to-back. It all added up to the Warriors’ first loss of the season.
“You shouldn’t have to win it twice,” Curry said. “We put ourselves in that position.”
Many also wondered why Curry didn’t get into the game earlier in the fourth quarter.
Curry’s floor time is pretty predictable. Coach Steve Kerr usually plays Steph for the entire first quarter, rests him the first half of the second quarter and then lets him close out the half. After intermission, Curry usually plays the entire third quarter before returning midway through the fourth quarter if the Warriors don’t have the game in hand.
The Warriors took a timeout with 6:56 remaining and the game tied at 86 but Curry didn’t sub into the game. Andrew Wiggins entered the game with 6:40 left for Jordan Poole, but Curry didn’t approach the scorer’s table until about the six-minute mark before entering with 4:32 left and the game tied at 91.
“That’s not why we lost,” Curry said of his fourth-quarter playing time. “I don’t want that to be the narrative of why we didn’t win. We gotta execute better, especially down the stretch.”
“I don’t want that to be the narrative of why we didn’t win.”
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) October 29, 2021
Steph on not getting back in the game until 4:32 in the fourth quarter. pic.twitter.com/nYuRfXCQbt
Kerr said he didn’t think about re-inserting Steph at the 6:56 mark.
“He played 19 minutes in the first half, which is pretty heavy,” Kerr said. “I felt pretty strongly about getting him some rest. He ended up, obviously with the overtime, at almost 41. We don’t need that. Over the course of 82 games, we’ve got to manage his minutes well.”
Kerr said the Warriors also need to do a better job of executing so Curry doesn’t exhaust himself trying to generate scoring opportunities.
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“I think right now, he’s working too hard for his shots,” Kerr said. “That’s what I mean when I say this is a different team from last year. Last year I don’t think we had much choice, just the way the team was built. I think this year, we have a little more shooting, a little more playmaking.”
The honeymoon to start the season is over, but the Warriors are still 4-1 and Curry is still Curry.
“It’s tough when you lose,” Curry said. “You realize you start nit-picking pretty quickly.”
