The Warriors' 132-126 victory over the Boston Celtics in overtime Tuesday night at Chase Center was a team effort, but the Splash Brothers turned it up a notch to help Golden State walk away with the win.
Steph Curry was his usual self just one game after his historic 3-point streak ended, sinking a dagger 3 to put the game away in OT and finishing with a game-high 33 points. And Klay Thompson, who has dealt with naysayers at every turn this season, continued to show he's one of the greatest shooters of all time with a clutch triple of his own near the end of regulation during a 24-point night.
The Warriors' championship core, albeit without the suspended Draymond Green at the moment, still has enough juice to contend. And after Tuesday's big win, Curry addressed doubters who believe it's time to break up that core.
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"It's been like that for years now, even before we won the '22 championship," Curry told reporters. "They always find something to nitpick, and that's because there's expectations for us to win. So you kind of take that in stride. ...
"It's no secret to anybody what February looks like or a playoff push, and what you need to show other teams to be a serious threat to win a playoff series or whatever the case is."
In other words, so long as the Warriors' core is intact, they know they can compete. The experienced gained over four NBA title runs can't be duplicated and always will serve as an advantage, even when things might not be going well on the court.
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There's still plenty to work on, with Golden State sitting at 13-14 and No. 11 in the Western Conference after Tuesday's win, but it appears the team is on the verge of figuring things out as youngsters such as Trayce Jackson-Davis, Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski complement their veteran counterparts.
How things will look next year is up in the air, with the contracts of both Thompson and Warriors coach Steve Kerr expiring after the 2023-24 NBA season. But right now, all they can do is compete while the core remains intact.
As Curry said, outside chatter and doubt was at an all-time high before the Warriors won the 2022 NBA Finals. And as they face the same again this season, there's no team better equipped to shock the league with another playoff run.