SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Draymond Green had been on the court all of 11 seconds when he dished off to Stephen Curry for a three-pointer.
With Green back beside him and leading the defence again following a 29-game absence, Curry dazzled all night on the way to 47 points on his 34th birthday, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Washington Wizards 126-112 early on Tuesday.
Reigning scoring champion Curry shot 16 for 25 with seven three-pointers, dribbling past defenders and shaking coverage to make off-balanced shots.
The Warriors wound up shooting 53.6 per cent from the floor in snapping a three-game losing streak to Washington. Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole scored 20 apiece. Green, who had been sidelined with an injury and played for the first time since January 9, finished with six points, seven rebounds and six assists in 20 minutes.
It marked the first time he, Curry and Thompson were on the court together since Thompson went down with a left knee injury in the deciding Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, won by Toronto.
To have Green deliver on both ends immediately meant so much.
“I think what it did for him is what it did for all of us. You could tell the energy picked up,” Curry said.
“It’s not anything more than what’s built on 10 years of experience and chemistry and winning and an understanding of how we do things. No matter how much time we have off, we can get right back to it. It is crazy to think first time me, Klay and Draymond had been on the court in a very, very long time.
“We want to keep building on that. We know each other like the back of our hand, we complement each other very well.”
Green entered at the 4:50 mark of the opening quarter to a warm ovation, then knocked down a three-pointer with 2:42 left in the period.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 25 points and Kenatavious Caldwell-Pope 19 points in the Wizards’ fourth straight loss, fifth of six and sixth in a row on the road.
Rui Hachimura’s basket with 5:25 to play got the Wizards within single digits at 110-101 before Curry connected moments later.
The Warriors and Wizards will play a pair of pre-season games on September 30 and October 2 in Saitama, Japan. “Participating in the upcoming NBA Japan Games gives us great optimism about the continued growth of basketball around the world and the opportunity to unite through a shared love of the game,” Warriors President and Chief Operating Officer Brandon Schneider said.
First-year Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr was a Warriors assistant in 2011-12 during Thompson’s rookie season and the third year for Curry.
“This place was a lot of fun,” he said. “Not only the city but the arena, the energy.”
Second-year centre James Wiseman will play another game – his third – with the G League Santa Cruz Warriors in Los Angeles, then the Warriors will decide on the next step.
