How the Suns defense shut down Steph Curry and the Warriors in Phoenix - The Athletic

PHOENIX — Stephen Curry, late in what was a quiet first half for him, got Deandre Ayton on a switch way out on the perimeter. He had a chance to attack Ayton’s spatial movement on the drive. Nine seconds were still left on the shot clock. But 34 seconds remained in the quarter, and Curry loves his 2-for-1 opportunities too much.

So Curry opted for the stepback 3, ensuring the Warriors would get an extra possession. He took one last hard dribble, bounced to his left, several feet behind the line, and figured he had plenty of room to get off a bomb.

That shot got only halfway to the rim. The nimble and increasingly more aware Ayton, now in his fourth season, leaped and got a piece of Curry’s shot. The tip block fell into the hands of Chris Paul, in position to set up the Suns for a transition bucket the other way.

When’s the last time you saw a center block a Curry 3-pointer?

Phoenix went up two, but the timing of Curry’s quick 3 gave the Warriors that extra possession before halftime. He tried to learn from his prior mistake. Draymond Green, again, set a screen for Curry, activating the Mikal Bridges-to-Ayton defensive switch onto Curry. Instead of settling for the contested jumper, he attacked Ayton in space.

It worked.

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