Stephen Curry and Yaxel Lendeborg have been getting the headlines, and for good reason. But the Warriors’ latest surge is also being fueled by something a little less flashy: a bench that has started to look dangerous.
Golden State rolled past the Miami Heat 120-100 on Thursday night, stretching its winning streak to six after that rough 0-3 opening. The turnaround has been stark, and this one followed a familiar pattern early before the Warriors took control late.
The Heat jumped out to an early double-digit lead in the first quarter, and Golden State still hadn’t led by halftime. Even so, the Warriors kept chipping away and eventually tied the game before the break. From there, the third quarter belonged to Curry.
The veteran guard poured in 22 of his team-high 29 points after halftime, turning the game fast. Lendeborg, meanwhile, didn’t post the same overpowering numbers he had during the rest of the winning streak, but he still delivered across the board with 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists, three steals and a block.
The real separator, though, was the second unit. Golden State came into the night sixth in the league in bench scoring, and it showed. The Warriors outscored Miami’s reserves 53-27, with production coming from all over the rotation.
Georges Niang gave them 13 points, four rebounds and three assists on 5-of-8 shooting in 22 minutes. Brandon Williams added 10 points and four assists in just under 21 minutes. Charles Bassey kept rolling with eight points, seven rebounds and three blocks in 14 minutes, while Al Horford chipped in eight points, five rebounds and one assist.
Still, the bench’s success doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Curry’s gravity and Lendeborg’s rise have made everything else fit more cleanly. The 11th overall pick has given Golden State a second scoring option and helped carry the non-Curry minutes, which lets the rest of the rotation play to its strengths instead of being stretched beyond them.
And the Warriors are doing all of this without Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody, both injured and expected back mid-season. They also may add a rotation piece in a trade for Kristaps Porzingis.
Golden State gets its next shot at a seventh straight win on Saturday night at Chase Center against the short-handed Orlando Magic.
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Warriors Rumor Could Reshape Steph Currys Final Title Chase
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Jokics situation in Denver is worth watching because extension talks have been delayed, leaving open the possibility of free agency down the line. For the Warriors, the appeal is obvious: a player of that caliber would instantly change the ceiling around Stephen Curry and give the franchise a very different path back into title contention, even as the front office weighs how realistic it is to land a star of that magnitude. [Read more 🡒]