Programming note: Watch the pregame edition of Warriors Outsiders on Monday afternoon at 4:30, streaming live on the MyTeams app.
With about 5:45 left in the third quarter of Game 3 between the Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard air-balled a 3-pointer as he tried to draw a foul on Klay Thompson.
Draymond Green caught the miss and delivered a perfect outlet pass down the floor to a streaking Jordan Bell, who proceeded to miss a wide open dunk.
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CJ McCollum got fouled seconds later and made the first free throw. Golden State head coach Steve Kerr called a timeout with the Warriors down by nine points.
Did anybody say anything to Bell during the break? Yes, actually. Assistant coach Mike Brown -- who didn't take kindly to the second-year forward's hotel prank back in late March that resulted in a one-game suspension -- pushed the right button.
Ethan Strauss of The Athletic has the details:
“So Jordan played against my son Elijah,” Brown explained. “My oldest son played at Mater Dei High School in Orange County and Jordan played at Long Beach. So they had a lot of games back in the day.
Golden State Warriors
So I went up to him and he thought I was serious, because we took the time out. He’s about to walk out of the huddle and I walk up to him and say, ‘Jordan, listen, don’t worry about the dunk. I saw about three or four of them back in the Long Beach days and you bounced back.’ He fell out laughing. He said, ‘Ah, MB, I didn’t do that back then!’ I said, ‘Yea you did! It’s all good, though!’”
“It was only one missed dunk,” Brown conceded.
It wouldn't have been surprising whatsoever if Bell was pulled from the game at that moment. But Kerr and the coaching staff stuck with Bell.
They were rewarded soon thereafter:
[RELATED: Report: Bell wants to re-sign with Warriors in free agency]
Bell ended up registering four points, two rebounds, two assists and a block in a little over nine minutes in the third quarter.
The 24-year old played a combined 15 minutes over the Warriors' first 11 playoff games, but he's now an integral part of the rotation.
