Jordan Poole responded to a nice pregame reception with a team-high 25 points in his return to San Francisco, but Stephen Curry countered with 30 and rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis notched a second straight double-double as the Golden State Warriors ran off from the visiting Washington Wizards for a 129-118 victory Friday night.
The meeting was the first since Poole, a driving force in Golden State’s 2022 championship run before being on the receiving end of a Draymond Green punch last preseason, was dealt from the Warriors to the Wizards in July as part of a package for Chris Paul.
As has been his norm this season, Poole struggled from the field, shooting 7-for-21 overall and 3-for-12 on 3-pointers, but managed to use eight free throws as the foundation for his sixth game this season with 25 or more points.
Paul contributed four points, seven rebounds and a game-high 10 assists to the Warriors’ cause, which was made easier by the fact that the Wizards were playing the second night of a back-to-back at the end of a four-game Western swing.
A 3-pointer by Poole with 4.5 seconds remaining in the first half allowed the Wizards, who won 118-117 at Portland on Thursday, to hang within 63-61 at halftime.
But Curry hit two 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the third quarter, then added two more in the next five minutes, helping Golden State take command at 88-77 en route to its fourth straight win.
Curry finished 8-for-13 on 3-pointers and 9-for-18 overall in 27 minutes for the Warriors, who were playing the front end of a back-to-back, with another home game against Portland on tap for Saturday.
Jonathan Kuminga chipped in with 22 points on 9-for-11 shooting and Klay Thompson had 20 on the strength of four 3-pointers, while Jackson-Davis grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds to go with 10 points.
Dario Saric (13) and Brandin Podziemski (10) also scored in double figures for the Warriors, who hadn’t had a game decided by more than eight points in more than a month, dating back to a 128-109 home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Nov. 16.
Corey Kispert had 18 points, Daniel Gafford 15 and Tyus Jones 14 to complement a team-high six assists for the Wizards, who went 1-3 on the trip. Kyle Kuzma was Washington’s leading rebounder with nine on a night when he was held to seven points on 3-for-11 shooting.
–Field Level Media
