The emotions were all over Steph Curry's face, from the 8:24 mark in the first quarter of the Warriors' 101-93 win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night, all the way through his postgame media session with reporters in the visiting locker room.
Draymond Green's first-quarter ejection at Kia Center set Curry on a slow simmer and he boiled over in the final minute of the crucial win on the second night of a back-to-back.
"All I’ll say is, we need him," Curry told reporters after the game when asked about Green's untimely ejection, via The Athletic's Anthony Slater. "He knows that. We all know that. So whatever it takes to keep him on the floor and be available, that’s what’s got to happen. Especially this point in the year. So tough way to start the game.
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"But I am extremely proud of every single person who stepped foot on the floor tonight and responded the way that they did because, back-to-back, a team as physical as they are, we got contributions from everybody and it was a beautiful team effort to respond the way that we did and get this win. Because we went and took it. That's a big sign for us. A sign of growth to be able to respond that way."
In the moments immediately after Green's ejection, Curry's visible frustration was caught by TV cameras.
"We know how important [this part of the season] is and our ability to get into a rhythm and secure a play-in opportunity and give ourselves a shot, you don't want to have self-inflicted wounds when it comes to that," Curry told reporters. "We all care. We're all passionate about the game and our chances to have something to play for down the stretch. You give everything you got to this game and that's the emotion."
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors are fighting to hang on to a Western Conference play-in spot, and their win over the Magic kept them one game ahead of the Houston Rockets for the No. 10 seed.
Curry knows how important every single game down the stretch is, and Green's ejection put an early dent in the Warriors' chances of winning.
But a group effort, aided by Andrew Wiggins (team-high 23), Klay Thompson (15 points), Moses Moody (12 points), Gary Payton II (10 points) and Trayce Jackson-Davis (eight points and 14 rebounds), helped the Warriors improve to 38-34 this season.
Curry sealed the win by scoring the final five points of the game, including a dagger step-back 3-pointer, which led to his emotional explosion.
Curry dropped his signature night, night celebration and then proceeded to forcefully kick chairs near the Warriors' bench before letting out a primal scream.
This matters to Curry. Every game means something to him. On this night, Green left his brothers hanging less than four minutes into the game.
But an emotional Curry used it as fuel.
Now the hope for Curry and the Warriors is that Green gets the message and keeps his emotions in check for the rest of the season. Because they need to win just about every single game if they want to keep playing beyond April 14.