On Saturday, the Golden State Warriors defeated the Milwaukee Bucks, 125-116, to record one of their most significant victories of the year. Warriors point guard Stephen Curry had an outstanding fourth quarter, leading to the exciting overtime triumph. Curry had a poor start, but when the Dubs needed him the most, he heated up, hitting 20 of his game-high 36 points in the closing minutes.
STEPH GETS A MASSIVE BLOCKpic.twitter.com/j74HGRTotw
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 12, 2023
Steph says he got more compliments on his clutch block than any shot he made tonight pic.twitter.com/DVA8wJDlZq
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 12, 2023
One key element to the Warriors’ victory was the presence of Donte DiVincenzo in the closing lineup. Jordan Poole is the usual choice to close out games, especially whenever the team finds themselves attempting to overcome a big deficit and his offense is needed. However, on Saturday, Kerr went with DiVincenzo as his blend of shooting, defense, and overall basketball IQ fits well with the other starters, giving Golden State the perfect balance to close out games. In his latest article, Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area outlined DiVincenzo’s impact on Saturday’s game.
Via NBC Sports Bay Area:
Along with his 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals to help him be a plus-17 in plus/minus rating, he scored 20 points for the fourth time this season and tied a career-high of six made 3-pointers.
That also is what allows him to thrive with Saturday’s starting and closing lineup, as well as a handful of other groups. Coming into the season, DiVincenzo’s career high in 3-point percentage was 37.9 in the 2020-21 season with Milwaukee. After sinking six more triples in what felt like the Warriors’ latest must-win game, DiVincenzo now is shooting 40.8 percent from 3-point range.
How impressive is that? He’s behind Curry (only the greatest shooter of all time), but now a tick ahead of Klay Thompson with his 3-point percentage this season.
After the weekend, the Warriors’ record of 35-33 gives them the sixth seed with a one-game lead over the next closest play-in team. With 14 games remaining on their schedule, Golden State can realistically get to as high as the fourth seed in which they trail the Phoenix Suns by 2.5 games, thus making Monday’s game against them that much more significant.
Source: https://www.goldenstateofmind.com
