Steph Curry Credits ‘Special’ Gary Payton II Dunk For Energizing Warriors – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

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Warriors’ disturbed victory over Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night at the Chase Center was nothing short of a real team victory.

Before Golden State closed its possible 116-109 victory over the western conference’s # 1 seed, it drew by as many as 14 points in the first quarter before storming back, and eventually tying the game in the third quarter and taking the lead In the fourth before covering the monster victory at home.

The energy of the Chase Center amount was high throughout the other half, and it topped when the Warriors protection Gary Payton II threw an evil poster dunk at Thunder Center Isaiah Hartenstein to extend the Golden State’s lead to 114-105 with 1:03 back in the game.

The electrifying moment, while only a basket in a series of great plays down the stretch, brought Warriors’ bench up and gave a big boost that Payton’s teammates were fed.

“Over the past four years there have been moments like that,” Steph Curry said of Payton’s Dunk Postgame. “He was definitely excited because he said he hadn’t had one in a while. It doesn’t matter at what time in the game it happens, it’s always a big boost energy wise (the) behavior for the whole team something to celebrate.

“And for him to show his athletics. But to end the game as it was special, it’s like you just want a stamp on a game like that, and the crowd got crazy, the whole bench was up. That’s what a team Need when you’ve had a race that we’ve had.

Payton has been known for his thunderous dunks over the years and talked to journalists after the game was asked if he had “hunting” a sludge like the one at Hartenstein after not producing many posters this season.

“No, I don’t have” hunting “it, but I know I haven’t been up there in a while,” Payton explained. “Our coaches kill us with ‘Follow Help’ so that Dennis (Schröder) attacked and made a good passport and I just followed the help and if you follow help.

Warriors Frem Andrew Wiggins, also known for his great dunks over the years, was happy to see his teammate standing up over the edge and throwing one down.

“Oh man, I haven’t seen that in a while,” Wiggins said of Payton’s dunk. “I’m glad he did it. It just shows what g is capable of. He is a very important piece for this team on both sides of the floor, I just want to complement the team so well, so it is great to have him ”

While the electrifying moment helped Ice Golden State’s big victory over Thunder, so did Payton and his teammates and warriors fans-a level of energy that has not felt much since the beginning of the 2024-25 NBA season.

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