SAN FRANCISCO — Just over two minutes remained in the fourth quarter when the Chicago Bulls trimmed the Warriors' double-digit lead down to one. Golden State needed a bucket, and an unlikely hero emerged.
With five seconds on the shot clock, Draymond Green pulled up for a 3-pointer. Odds tell us that shot was likely to miss — Green is a career 31 percent from 3 — but it swished in to shift momentum back the Warriors' way as they pulled away for a 119-111 win on Friday night at Chase Center.
Green knew he'd be open; his relatively low 3-point percentage gives defenders little reason to defend him from beyond the arc. But a more aggressive start to the season offensively has Green feeling confident taking those shots.
"I really just want to keep stepping in and taking them with confidence when I'm open," Green said. "But it feels great. My game feels great. My touch feels good, so I feel like I'm in a really good space."
The 32-year-old made both of his 3-point attempts in his 13-point game on Friday and is shooting 32 percent from 3 this year on an average 1.3 attempts per game. It's a far cry from the 38 percent on 3.2 attempts he took in 2016, but his 60 percent rate from the field points Green taking advantage of the space defenses provide to be a more decisive and confident scorer.
"He's open and shooting it with confidence," Steph Curry said. "And that was a big shot considering how the game was flowing down the stretch. We needed it."
It's a complete shift from the way he played most of last season. Green was benched during offensive possessions late in Game 4 of the NBA Finals because he couldn't create offensive for himself. A back injury seemed to hamper his scoring throughout the season last year. At times he didn't even look at the rim, and defense could apply pressure elsewhere knowing he was a guarantee to pass the ball
But Green's approach this season changed. Keeping in mind an injury that sidelined him for weeks in February and March, Green made it a point to stay in shape top shape so that he wouldn't have to continually "get back in shape." Only on his honeymoon in August did he take a real break from workouts and training with assistant coach Jacob Rubin, he said.
"I thought it was important for me, as you continue to get older, to not get out of shape," Green said. "And then try to fight to get back in shape."
No play best exemplified this than a running layup in the third quarter. Steph Curry threw a down-court pass off a rebound to Green with DeMar DeRozan guarding him. In one swift motion, he jumped over DeRozan like a wide receiver, tipped the ball to himself and spun up for a layup. He ran to the bench and celebrated with assistant coach Anthony Vereen.
"I was just talking about me looking like Randy Moss," Green said.
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