SAN FRANCISCO — In the Golden State Warriors’ biggest wins this season — at Boston, at Oklahoma City, at home against the Mavericks, at Minnesota last weekend — Steph Curry pulled them across the finish line with a flurry of separation 3s in crunch time. However flawed, that’s been this team’s formula. Keep the game close enough with defense and rely on the 36-year-old legend to provide the necessary offensive boost late.
But Curry has slipped into a bit of a slump. Even counting that surge against the Timberwolves on Saturday night, he is shooting 38 percent in eight December games, creaky numbers that began right around the time his knee tendinitis started popping up on the injury report.
“I could be a lot better,” Curry said. “And I will be.”
The Warriors had their chance to beat the Indiana Pacers on Monday night. Curry re-entered with 4:43 left and the score tied at 97. The Pacers face-guarded him with Andrew Nembhard and swarmed him all over the court. He used that extra attention to set up a Dennis Schröder layup with 1:18 left.
But Curry, despite the constant defensive attention, did free himself up for three looks in the final four minutes. With 4:30 left, he cut backdoor but curiously overshot the rim on a wide-open lefty layup. With 2:53 left, he lost Nembhard with a quick cut to the top of the key and a Trayce Jackson-Davis screen. But he back-rimmed the attempted 3 that would’ve tied it.
Then with 47 seconds left, trailing 106-104, Curry dribbled into a stepback 3 from the left corner for the lead. He missed it to the right. The Warriors would never get another chance to tie it. The Pacers hit a dagger 3 on the next possession. Curry finished 2 of 13 shooting and the Warriors lost 111-105.
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Steph Curry still searching for his rhythm as Warriors lose at home to Pacers
