Draymond Green scored 21 points, Jimmy Butler III had a triple-double, and Golden State beat the Toronto Raptors, 117-114, on Thursday, March 20 (Friday, March 21, Manila time), in San Francisco despite Warriors star Stephen Curry exiting the game with a pelvic contusion.
Curry finished with 17 points after falling hard on his back on a drive to the basket with 3:24 left in the third quarter and the Warriors down 88-83.
Green tied his season high with 5 three-pointers and had 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals for Golden State (41-29), which trailed 105-104 with 7:31 left in regulation.
The Warriors moved ahead 110-105 on Jonathan Kuminga’s jump shot with 4:07 remaining, then made 7 of 8 free throw attempts in the final two minutes to seal the victory.
Golden State rookie Quinten Post added 18 points on a career-high 6 three-pointers off the bench for the Warriors, who won for the ninth time in their past 10 games. Butler had 16 points, 11 rebounds, and a season-high 12 assists. Kuminga also scored 16 points and Brandin Podziemski added 15.
Scottie Barnes led Toronto (24-46) with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. Immanuel Quickley scored 21 points, Jakob Poeltl added 18 points, Jamison Battle had 14, and Jamal Shead 11.
The Raptors lost their third straight game despite shooting 56.4% from the field and 42.3% (11 of 26) from 3-point range.
Golden State led 33-30 at the end of the first quarter after shooting 8 of 16 from three-point range.
With Toronto focused on keeping Curry in check, Golden State found other scoring options and stretched its lead to 59-49 on Kuminga’s jump shot with 2:48 left in the second quarter.
Green had 18 points and Curry was limited to 7 in the first half for the Warriors, who held a 67-61 advantage at intermission.
After Toronto used a 20-5 run to move ahead 85-79 with 4:55 left in the third quarter, Golden State ended the period with a 93-92 lead after closing on a 10-2 run.
The Warriors played without guard Gary Payton II, who sat out due to left knee soreness. – Rappler.com