Warriors

Warriors Observations: Steph Curry Hits Six 3-Pointers in Win Vs. Blazers

What we learned as Steph hits six 3s in Dubs' sloppy win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea

SAN FRANCISCO -- At every Warriors home game, every time Steph Curry touches the ball, the crowd in Chase Center murmurs in anticipation of what he is going to do with it. 

But on Wednesday night, there was even more anticipation. Curry was in striking distance of the NBA's all-time 3-pointers made record, and the fans wanted him to let it fly. And he did, much to the crowd's -- and his teammate's -- delight. 

Curry didn't break the record, but he put a big dent in his deficit with six 3-pointers in the Warriors' 104-94 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. 

Curry's 22 points, along with Jordan Poole's 20, Otto Porter Jr.'s 15, Andrew Wiggins' 13 and Kevon Looney's 11, spurred the Warriors' 21st win over the season -- Golden State's final home game for the 11 days. 

Here are three takeaways from the night:

Steph was gunning for the record

Heading into the night, Curry was 16 3-pointers away from breaking Ray Allen's all-time 3-point record. If it was anyone else gunning for the record, no one would think it could happen in one game. But since it's Curry, anything's possible.

And he was going for it on Wednesday night. 

Curry attempted 19 total field goals, 17 of which were from beyond the arc. He hit six of his threes, accounting for all but two of his made buckets. 

Maybe the anticipation was getting to Curry himself, as he started the game 0-for-4 from three, including an airball. But he found a rhythm as the game went on. 

Offensive out of rhythm

Now, it makes sense for the Warriors to want to feed Curry the ball and see him break the record at home -- especially because it'll be five games until they are back at Chase Center. 

But in doing this, Golden State completely lost their offensive rhythm, particularly early on. 

The Warriors went into halftime shooting 35.4 percent from the field and 25 percent from three, up by just two points on a Blazers team that was missing Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Sure, that says something about Golden State's defense as well. But, their offense was taking a larger hit. 

As the course of the game went on, the Warriors found their top-ranked offense again. It was a microcosm of them not force-feeding the ball to Curry as much as it became clear he wouldn't break the record that night. 

Porter Jr. was the X factor

It was Porter's turn to be the guy in the second unit to give the Warriors the burst off the bench they needed. 

In the third quarter, Porter played an integral part in getting the Warriors' offense back in the flow of the game instead of forcing things. 

And of course, he started it by launching from the left corner. 

Porter finished with 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting -- 4-of-6 from 3-pointer -- and six rebounds.

Porter checking in and becoming a stabilizing force for the Warriors' offense isn't something new. He's been doing it all season long. And on Wednesday, it allowed the Warriors to get back on track for their blowout win.

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