Steph Curry defends Damion Lee after a terrible final-minute Warriors sequence

Not a great sequence for the guard.

The good news for the Golden State Warriors: Steph Curry looked mostly like his old self in his return to the team, playing for the first time since October 30.

The bad news: the Dubs fell to the Toronto Raptors in a game they actually had a shot at winning, although maybe that’s not the point.

But fans were dumping on guard Damion Lee, despite a 23-point game in which he hit 5-of-12 from distance, because of a sequence late in which the Warriors could have potentially come back.

With the Raps up 117-113 and 25.3 seconds to go, Lee went to the line for two free throws. He missed them both, but the Warriors snagged the rebound and there was Lee, WIDE open at the top of the arc. Maybe he should have given up the ball to the future Hall of Famer known for hitting clutch shots, but he had quite a look.

And he missed. Another offensive rebound and the ball came right back to Lee and he turned it over, then committed a foul:

His teammates, including Eric Paschall and Curry, came to his defense:

This is why Curry’s return this season and not in the fall is huge. He can help teach this young roster how to pick themselves up after losses and how to play the right way, so that they’re ready when the games actually count.

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