The Golden State Warriors registered an exciting 132-126 win over the Boston Celtics, with the Splash Brothers and the team’s young core delivering their best. Stephen Curry’s sixth three-pointer in the dying seconds of OT elevated the Dubs from a narrow 127-126 lead to secure a much-needed victory at this juncture of the season.
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In a post-game interview with NBCS, young Dubs star Jonathan Kuminga reflected on how last week’s team meeting helped boost the morale and shift the mentality of the young players who showed up at last night’s game. JK knows well that the Warriors are a team filled with Hall-of-Famers, which makes losing completely unacceptable for the Dubs.
Highlighting the confidence of the team, Kuminga said, “We have a great team and we got a lot of Hall-of-Famers in the team. They are not here to lose a game, they are not here to lose like a rebuilding team or anything like that. So, obviously, they have that confidence to everyday come to work.”
The confidence exerted and instilled by the veterans in the team has clearly seeped into the younger players of the roster. Proving that sentiment, Kuminga added, “Me and the rest of the young guys, we just got adapted to that, to a point where we don’t need to be losing every game. It becomes something where it gives confidence to everybody, motivation to come every day to work, and making sure we get some wins.”
This was the Warriors’ third straight win since losing to the Los Angeles Clippers on December 14. Stephen Curry’s team meeting after that loss definitely had an impact since the Dubs went on a three-game winning streak, defeating the Brooklyn Nets, the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Boston Celtics.
In the past few games, the Warriors have earned their victory mostly in the dying minutes of the game. All of that does help them redeem their position as a clutch team as well. However, solely relying on offense will not solve their problems before contending for a top playoff spot. At this point, the Dubs might need to work on their defensive strategies to reclaim their dynasty status again in the league.
Stephen Curry once motivated the Warriors ahead of a Game 7 playoff matchup against the Sacramento Kings
The Warriors’ newfound confidence is akin to Stephen Curry motivating the Dubs ahead of a Game 7 playoff matchup last season against the Sacramento Kings. The Warriors had just lost Game 6 to the Kings at home, wherein the team appeared quite lethargic and underwhelming. Curry’s passionate speech after the game was enough of a motivating factor to galvanize the team, bounce back, and clinch the series 4-3 against the Kings.
Perhaps the meeting after the loss to the Clippers had the same effect. Since the meeting, Klay Thompson has also been playing really well, scoring an impressive 24 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists, in the game against the Celtics last night.
Stephen Curry is happy that the team is returning to its old, winning ways after three explosive performances this week. Praising the Dubs in a post-game conference, the 4x champion said, “It’s been like that for years now … They always find something to nitpick and that’s because there’s expectations for us to win.”
We are yet to see whether the Warriors will be able to keep up the pace this way and bounce back for a top playoff seed, or come down crashing, given they currently stand 11th in the Western Conference, with a concerning 13-14 record.
