© Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Last Friday, The Golden State Warriors overcame the odds and defeated the Houston Rockets to close out their second round series. Despite being on the road without Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry’s 33-point second half performance pushed his team over the top.
Before they can fully focus on the Portland Trail Blazers, Warriors assistant coach Mike Brown appeared on Murph & Mac to talk about the entirety of Friday’s Game 6, including Curry’s early struggles, as well as how crucial the bench was for them.
Curry’s night got off to a rocky start, picking up three early fouls in the first half. When coach Kerr decided to pull Curry, Brown says that was a moment of truth.
“It was (a moment of truth) to a certain degree because it’s tough,” Brown said of pulling Curry out of the game. “You have a guy like Steph Curry; he actually came into our coaches huddle. He was, first of all, looking at us, and then he said he wanted to stay. In a situation like that, with as much time as there was left in the game, we just felt that it was not the right time to keep him on the floor.”
Despite Curry’s offensive woes in the first half – which he scored zero points – Brown says he, as well as the rest of the coaching staff, wasn’t worried at all heading into the locker-room. Brown commented on what was said, or not said, to Curry during halftime that ignited his huge second half.
“There wasn’t much said,” Brown explained. “We felt as a staff, and as a team that we were in great shape just for the fact that we were tied versus a very good team in their building, in the playoffs, and Steph hadn’t scored. For us, that was huge.”
While the story from Friday night’s game is definitely highlighted by the performance of the Splash Brothers, coach Brown thinks the bench unit deserves a lot of love as well.
“If there was a game where you could call your bench the “Bench Mob,” that for sure was it,” Brown said, “because it wasn’t just two or three guys. It literally was everybody that we threw in the game, and Draymond (Green) said it best afterword. He basically said everybody we put in the game contributed in some way, shape, or form.
“Impact-wise, each individual kept themselves ready until their number was called. Their number was called last Friday, and they stepped up big for us, and got us a win.”
To listen to the entire interview, click HERE: