Steph Curry INSANE Play With 0.2 Seconds Left

The Golden State Warriors have now played their first matchup in the inaugural NBA in-season tournament. They beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 141-139 in a tight contest that went down to the wire, with Curry hitting a game-winner to avoid overtime.

Victory against the Thunder

With the in-season tournament games counting as regular season matches, this victory now puts the Warriors at a 5-1 record. While the longtime core of the Warriors played exactly as you'd expect, with the Splash Bros hitting a combined 9 threes and Curry coming close to a triple-double with 30 points, 7 assists, and 8 rebounds, the main reason for the Warriors' victory came from their bench.

Saric and Kuminga finished with 20 points and 19 points, respectively, which were the 2nd and 3rd highest for Golden State. Chris Paul also led the team in assists, tallying 13 off the bench. Another shocking stat was that every single bench player finished with a positive +/-, compared to three starters who had a negative +/-.


One could argue that the bench only succeeded due to the fact that the Thunder had to lose some of their bench depth by replacing the injured Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the starting lineup. Nonetheless, the Warriors' role players really stepped up and proved that head coach Steve Kerr made the right decision by ending Chris Paul's record for starts and using him off the bench.


Warriors Game Winners

Starting off at 5-1, the Warriors show that they look to be as good as ever with this new roster, which was considered "too small" by many skeptical fans before the season started. In just 6 games, they have already provided many highlights to their fans, including dramatic finishes in their last two fixtures.

In both the recent victories against the Thunder and the Kings, the Warriors only just edged out their opponents by hitting game-winners, leaving just 0.2 seconds on the clock in both instances.

The first game-winner came from Klay Thompson, who hit a stepback mid-range jump shot while trailing the Kings by 1 point. The second was hit by Stephen Curry, who made a layup to prevent overtime in their first-ever in-season tournament matchup against the Thunder.

KLAY THOMPSON GAME WINNER. 🔥🔥

pic.twitter.com/J0HGfMIEjI— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) November 2, 2023

STEPH CURRY GAME WINNER IN THE FIRST IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT GAME OF THE SEASON 🔥
pic.twitter.com/6C1vdwoNOE— Guru (@DrGuru_) November 4, 2023

In Season Tournament

The Warriors are currently the fourth favorites to win the first-ever in-season tournament, and it's no surprise given their recent form. Continuing their 4-game win streak with another victory tonight puts them in great form for the next month of tournament play.

With both Splash Brothers showing up clutch for the Warriors, it's hard to see any team beating them in a close game. With their bench rotation performing well, any contenders will definitely need to have a deep squad, such as the Nuggets or Celtics.

The #Celtics are the favorites to win the NBA In-Season tournament (whatever that is) pic.twitter.com/xUGewI4RcR— Mike Maher (@mikeMaher) November 3, 2023