Draymond Green, Steph Curry show the stuff of legends in Warriors' Play-In win

Atlantic76ersCelticsKnicksNetsRaptorsCentralBucksBullsCavaliersPacersPistonsSoutheastHawksHeatHornetsMagicWizardsSouthwestGrizzliesMavericksPelicansRocketsSpursNorthwestJazzNuggetsThunderTimberwolvesTrail BlazersPacificClippersKingsLakersSunsWarriorsScores & ScheduleStandingsThe Bounce NewsletterNBA DraftPodcastsFantasyNBA OddsNBA PicksWhat To Know About The First RoundLatest Power RankingsThe Bucks' Season From HellPlayer Poll: Who Will Win Title?NBA Postseason Steph Curry and Draymond Green were at their dynastic best Wednesday, with Curry hitting daggers and Green a defensive menace. Keith Birmingham / MediaNews Group / Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images Share articleINGLEWOOD, Calif. — All game, Draymond Green played the long game in front of Kawhi Leonard. Patience. Discipline. Trust. Leonard likes to dance just a little before making his move. He crosses over just enough to get the defender to lean, then Leonard can dart the opposite direction and use his shoulder, carved from a quarry, to keep the defender off balance. Green, the Golden State Warriors’ defensive star, didn’t reach. He didn’t show any interest in a steal. He hustled to keep his chest in front of Leonard, absorbing the blow on his drives and using his wingspan to contest Leonard’s jumpers. “He stayed solid,” Gary Payton II said. “He was setting it up from the beginning. Then, when the time was right — I need that.” That time came with just over 40 seconds remaining in Wednesday’s Play-In Tournament game. With the L.A. Clippers down six and Leonard desperate to score, Green cut off Leonard on a drive. And right when the Clippers star crossed from right to left, Green timed the dribble and knocked it away. Green dove on the floor for the loose ball and passed it to Brandin Podziemski in transition. The trap worked. Green shut the door on the Clippers’ season and added another epic defensive play to his resume. “They had a great game plan,” said Leonard, who finished with 21 points on 17 shots with five turnovers. “Just being physical all game. Making sure I don’t get catch-and-shoot shots. Blasting every pick and roll. … And then, you know, Draymond, Hall of Fame defender. So, yeah, it was hard to even get shots off.” No histrionics from Green after the stop on one of the game’s best. He didn’t punctuate his second clutch steal in eight seconds with his typical guttural yell. Words, gestures weren’t needed. The moment proved loud enough. Wednesday’s 126-121 win over the Clippers carried a significance beyond the Warriors’ reward. It kept their season alive, earning them a road date in Phoenix on Friday with a playoff series against Oklahoma City on the line. It validated their belief after the regular season did its best to discourage them. The 10th-seeded Warriors looked like themselves again. Stephen Curry turned the Intuit Dome into his choir as the Golden State fans who occupied the Clippers’ home court went berserk with every shot he made. And the 38-year-old, in scoring 27 of his 35 points in the second half, showed he still has the ability to put his team, the opponent, the game, in the palm of his hands. Kristaps Porzingis didn’t need words. He just pointed at Curry in the locker room, rolled his eyes and shook his head. It was vintage Curry, who became the best player on the court when it was time to win. Every long-distance shot he splashed a reminder of his ethereal brilliance. He still crumbles defenses. Still electrifies arenas. Still lives for the moment. Curry and Green proclaimed, at the expense of the Clippers, their remaining prowess. With the right supporting cast, they can be viable contenders. Their peak is still on par with the best. They won’t go away just because people are tired of them. They won’t go away because it feels like it’s time. They won’t go away because other stars have arrived, other champions have been crowned. They’ll have to be knocked off their square. They won’t stop believing until someone makes them. In a lowly pre-playoff contest, a stage well beneath the grandest they’ve known, the Warriors exercised their defiance. Undeterred by losses, by setbacks, by injuries, by ridicule, by gradually fading capacity, Curry and Green summoned classic performances “With all the wins we’ve ever had here, (with) a lot more at stake — this is right up there,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said of the win over Los Angeles. “Just because of where we are and our age … The decline of our performance this year. The injuries. It was just a beautiful display of competitive will. “For one night, you know, we’re us. We’re champions again. And I know that that may sound crazy to everybody out there. It’s a Play-In game. I don’t care. It’s just absolutely beautiful to watch.” Whatever happens now, this win salvages their season. Because, if nothing else, it’s proof of concept. They can go into the offseason with fresh evidence of their formidability. A win at Phoenix would only bolster that case. Getting into the playoffs, against the No. 1 seed and defending champs, would earn them a chance to gather more evidence against a quality opponent. The Clippers aren’t world-beaters by any means. But they’d won 10 of their last 11 games against Golden State, and Leonard is a perennial nemesis. So beating the Clippers in a one-off doesn’t mean they’re ready to run with the Thunder or San Antonio or Denver. But Leonard is an all-time great still playing like he’s in his prime. He’s so efficient, so strong and so methodical, and Green limiting Leonard the way he did translates. Leonard totaled seven points on six shots in the second half, with no free throws. All two of his points in the fourth quarter came in the final seconds after the game was decided. “To hear one of the greats say that about me,” Green said of Leonard’s praise, “that’s special. That’s why you do it, because you want respect from your peers. And Kawhi, he’s not just no ordinary peer.” And Green did it while battling illness. His congestion was severe enough to warrant a chest X-ray. Before the game, he needed a nebulizer to help him breathe. When he subbed out in the first quarter, Green had both hands on his head, too fatigued to hide it. Still, he stayed glued to Leonard and, when a screen forced a switch, Green peppered Leonard with aggressive blitzes and double-teams. Leonard spent most of the game on his back foot and looked downright passive in the fourth quarter. It was Green’s force of will. His high basketball IQ. His toughness. His experience and mastery of his own skills. His insatiable appetite for proving his worth. “It reminded me of the old days,” Curry said. Speaking of the old days: Al Horford was on fire. He made four straight 3-pointers, part of an 18-7 run that put the Warriors up 117-115 with just over two minutes to play, their first lead since the second quarter. But with inside a minute remaining, and the game tied at 117, Curry called his own number. He waved Horford to the corner, knowing the defense would have to stay with the scorching big man. He called for a screen from Green on the left side. Curry dribbled off the screen, bounced a pass behind his back to Green, then darted back the opposite direction. After handing the ball back to Curry, Green screened Clippers guard Kris Dunn again. It was enough to get Curry onto Clippers center Brook Lopez. Curry dipped towards the rim, stepped back and launched a 3-pointer over Lopez, as Dunn desperately tried to contest. When he drilled it, sending a jolt inside the arena, Curry’s momentum took him into the courtside seats. He crashed into the front row. And while down there, he shared some cordial banter with the fans. And when he got back to his feet, he let out the guttural yell. It was a Play-In game, well below their highest highs. It was against the Clippers, hardly a juggernaut. But none of this stuff is beneath them. They’re legends. Hall of Famers. Giants in the game. But their ethos won’t allow them to turn their nose up at opportunity. Because in the throes of competition, in the face of defeat, something pure kicks in. Something honorable. The commitment to compete. The will to win. The confidence to put it on the line. It’s a spirit that’s survived from the dynasty era. One yet to be quenched. “This is why Steph came back,” Kerr said. “So everybody out there who thought Steph should have taken the rest of the year off …” Kerr pounded the table. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. His competitiveness elevated his voice, steeled his eyes. He smiled and still managed to convey the energy that drove the win, “This is what he does,” Kerr said. “This is who he is. If he can compete, he’s going to compete. And it was just incredible to watch.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Marcus Thompson II is a lead columnist at The Athletic. He is a prominent voice in the Bay Area sports scene after 18 years with Bay Area News Group, including 10 seasons covering the Warriors and four as a columnist. Marcus is also the author of the best-selling biography "GOLDEN: The Miraculous Rise of Steph Curry." Follow Marcus on Twitter @thompsonscribe