Don't look now, but the Golden State Warriors are officially rolling.
Golden State defeated the Washington Wizards 123-112 on Tuesday at Capital One Arena to improve to 30-27 overall and 9-2 in its last 11 games. It is attempting to move up the Western Conference standings and perhaps avoid the play-in tournament entirely with a top-six seed, and taking care of business against one of the league's worst teams is a perfect way to do just that.
Washington fell to 9-49 on the season with its 12th straight loss and is simply playing out the string at this point.
The Warriors win plenty of games behind Stephen Curry's individual brilliance, but that was far from the case Tuesday. The future Hall of Famer finished with 18 points on 6-of-21 shooting from the field, but his fellow Splash Brother picked up the slack with 25 points behind 6-of-11 shooting from deep.
He was one of 11 Golden State players to score in a performance that drew plenty of reaction from social media:
Bleacher Report @BleacherReportSteph in the first half vs. Wizards:<br><br>0 PTS<br>4 REB<br>3 AST<br><br>Scoreless in 1H for the first time since 2019 🤯 <a href="">
Golden State Warriors @warriorsMOSES MOODY <br>TOUGHHHH. <a href="">
Anthony Slater @anthonyVslaterProductive first stint back from Chris Paul. Hit a 3 during a 12-0 run. Four rebounds. Three steals. Two assists, the second of which was a lob to Trayce Jackson-Davis to punctuate the shift. Most important stat: Warriors went +10 in Steph Curry's time on the bench.
Golden State Warriors @warriorsWith this bucket, Chris Paul has passed Steve Nash for 32nd most threes in NBA history 👏 <a href="">
🅾️🅿️timistic W🅰️rriors Fan 💥 @30problemzCP3 and Klay Thompson off the bench <a href="">
Warriors on NBCS @NBCSWarriorsFIVE treys for Klay 💦 <a href="">
Golden State Warriors @warriorsDropping buckets. <br><br>Klay passes Paul Arizin for 5th most made field goals in franchise history. <a href="">
NBA Pass @nba_passKLAY MF THOMPSON, THIS DUDE AINT CLOSE TO DONE IN THIS LEAGUE 🔥
japta @DubsBetterrrKlay really might have a Ginobli/Ray Allen late career bench arc 🥹 <a href="">
Niko @nikotaughtyouLoving Klay's game tonight, I think I've liked every one of his shot attempts.
Jim Park🏀🌌 @SheridanblogKlay still has heat-check runs in him - pretty important in a condensed bench role. Been killer tonight off the bench, shooting 6/9 from 3s.
Golden State Warriors @warriorsTAKE FLIGHT, JK ⚡️<br><br>📺 <a href="">@NBCSAuthentic</a> <a href="">
There was no shortage of storylines in this one, as Jordan Poole—who Draymond Green infamously punched during practice before the 2022-23 campaign—faced his old team for just the second time since he was traded in the deal that brought Chris Paul to Golden State.
Tuesday was also Paul's return to the lineup for the first time since Jan. 5 because of a fractured hand that required surgery, which was all the more important because Andrew Wiggins was out for personal reasons.
It was also important in the first half since Curry didn't score a single point before intermission. Yet the Warriors still took the lead into the locker room in part because Paul helped spearhead a 12-0 run with a three-pointer, rebounding, defense and facilitating.
Jonathan Kuminga also efficiently attacked the Washington defense by getting inside the lane, while Moses Moody dropped his defender with quite the crossover.
It was just a matter of time before Curry scored and the Warriors pulled away, but it was Thompson who caught fire as the visitors buried the Wizards 38-17 in the third quarter and removed any doubt about the outcome.
While Washington played well for stretches in the fourth, Curry finally hit some shots and Golden State put the game away. It will look to continue playing at a high level when it visits Madison Square Garden to face the New York Knicks on Thursday.
