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Why Steph’s shooting, energy is key to Team USA’s Olympics success originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
When Steph Curry walked off the court and toward the locker room following Team USA’s lackadaisical win against Australia on Monday, he uttered a seven-word message.
But it was far more than a message – it was a promise.
“We got a lot to clean up,” Curry said.
Less than 48 hours later, he stayed true to his words.
After scoring just three points in Monday’s win on 1-of-6 shooting from 3-point range, it took Curry three dribbles, 15 seconds and one firm screen from Joel Embiid to match that number and get going early in Wednesday’s 105-79 win against Serbia.
About 90 seconds later, Team USA had nine points. Curry had all nine.
The Warriors superstar was replaced by Los Angeles Lakers star center Anthony Davis around the midway point of the first quarter, and the hive-five exchanged between the two on the way in/out of the game symbolized the passing of a mythical energetic torch.
Davis got going immediately, filling in the stat sheet in just over four minutes. Block, free throw, rebound, rebound, dunk was his order of operations in limited minutes off the bench to help Team USA close the quarter on a 19-14 run to erase its early deficit and tie things up.
Curry re-entered the game to start the second quarter and the 3-point king, once again, led another crucial offensive outburst. His 27-foot trey helped Team USA regain the lead, but he wasn’t satisfied.
He drove to the basket the following possession and laid the ball in gracefully.
His next play … wasn’t so graceful.
Try forceful. Powerful. Energetic.
Curry slowly walked his defender down with him to the wing as he scanned the floor for his teammates. Embiid hooked over his right trying to set a screen, but the Splash Bro had other ideas.
The shifty guard stepped back and let a 3-pointer fly before hitting the ground as the official’s whistle blew for a foul. He laid on the hardwood as he watched the ball swish into the net.
He made the free throw to complete the 4-point play, but not before an appropriate reaction from the Team USA bench and…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-stephs-shooting-energy-key-221324821.html
Author : NBC Sports BayArea
Publish date : 2024-07-17 22:13:24
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