Draymond ‘definitely ready' to redeem himself in Game 4

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HOUSTON – Stephen Curry believes he’ll return to the court Sunday for Game 4 and, in the wake of a Game 3 loss to the Rockets, he’s bringing a teammate with him.

That would be Draymond Green.

While Curry’s absence in Game 3 Thursday night was due to his tender right ankle, Green’s absence was mental and spiritual. His mind took temporary leave and his irrepressible spirit surely was missing.

Green has lived with the ugly memories of a game in which he was responsible for precisely half of the team’s 14 turnovers. He’s eager to show he’s mentally and spiritually engaged.

“Definitely,” Green said after practice Saturday. “Sitting on this game for two days is frustrating. But I’m definitely ready to get back out there and bring something good to my team.”

Green blamed himself for the Game 3 loss, saying he was “awful,” citing not just the Warriors' last possession, which ended abruptly after he dropped the ball off his foot and it rolled out of bounds. No, he was most displeased with his overall intensity, which failed to reach his standard.

“There’s a lot of stuff I can do differently, but it all starts with playing with energy,” he said. “I didn’t play with the same energy level I usually play with, and that’s what caused all my problems. It wasn’t anything else.”

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Curry, for one, expects a different Draymond when the ball goes up on Sunday.

“His history shows that he doesn’t usually have back-to-back games like that,” Curry told CSNBayArea.com. “So whatever that means, he’s going to be aggressive and play well. I don’t know what that will mean, statistically, but he’s going to help us win.”

Curry and Green were fairly unbeatable as a duo, as they were most responsible for the team’s record 73-9 season. They expect to be reunited for Game 4, which means the Rockets could face two players they didn’t have to contend with in Game 3.

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