Tag: damion lee

Damion Lee’s 24 points vs. Sixers snaps Golden State’s 10-game home losing streak, 118-114

Damion Lee dropped 24-points to lead the depleted Warriors to victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

While the game was lacking star power, the Golden State Warriors tilt against the Philadelphia 76ers lived up to its Saturday night primetime billing. Although Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid we’re all ruled out due to injury – the game turned into a nail biter late.

The Sixers held an eight-point lead going into the final period, but it wasn’t enough against the comeback Warriors. Golden State roared back into the game behind clutch shooting from Damion Lee and Mychal Mulder.

Mulder drilled an open 3-pointer with two minutes remaining in the game to give Golden State a two-point lead. Timely free throw shooting and a pair of defensive stops sealed the Warriors comeback win over Philadelphia, 118-114.

The Warriors win snapped a season-long 10-game home losing streak. Golden State will now get two days off before hosting Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers at Chase Center.

Damion Lee

After missing a pair of free throws and an open 3-pointer late against the Toronto Raptors, Lee bounced back with an impressive performance with the Sixers in town.

Lee led the Warriors in scoring with 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting. The former two-way contract guard added six rebounds and three assists against Philadelphia.

The Drexel product has scored over 23 points in his past two games while knocking down eight 3-pointers in that span.

Marquese Chriss

Marquese Chriss punched his third double-double in the past four games with 13 points and 10 rebounds against the Sixers. Although the former lottery pick racked up numbers on offense, his defense was key in Golden State’s win.

With a one-point Warriors lead and under 30 seconds remaining, Chriss swiped a crucial block against Philadelphia’s Mike Scott. The former Washington Husky’s improbable block set up Mulder to knock down two free throws to extend Golden State’s late lead.

Mychal Mulder

Mulder got the starting nod in the final day of his 10-day contract and continued his impressive play. The Kentucky shooter recorded a career-high 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting with 3-of-7 shots coming from beyond the arc.

Golden State is 3-3 since signing Mulder, with wins over the playoff-bound Sixers and Denver Nuggets. The Canadian guard has scored 14 or more points in four of the six games through his 10-day deal.

It’s safe to say Mulder is proving he belongs in the NBA longer than 10 days.

Eric Paschall, Damion Lee lead Warriors rally to stun Sixers 118-114

The Philadelphia 76ers fall to the Golden State Warriors on the road.

The matchup on Saturday night was not the one people were expecting when the schedule came out in the summer. There was no Stephen Curry or Draymond Green for the Golden State Warriors and there was no Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, or Josh Richardson for the Philadelphia 76ers.

The game still brought entertainment.

The Warriors used their youth and constant energy to rally late and stun the Sixers 118-114. Rookie Eric Paschall made two big free throws with 51.7 seconds left to give Golden State the lead before Al Horford, Mike Scott, and Shake Milton all missed chances to give Philadelphia the lead before Mychal Mulder sealed it with free throws for Golden State.

Damion Lee, who had a huge And-1 late, led the Warriors with 24 points and Paschall had 23.

Furkan Korkmaz had a costly turnover late with the Sixers down three. As he was trying to set himself up for a game-tying triple, he stepped out of bounds and that all but sealed it late.

Tobias Harris, who led Philadelphia with 24 points, made every clutch play down the stretch for the Sixers, but it was not enough on this one. Horford had another terrific game of 22 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists while Glenn Robinson III had 15 points and Milton had 14 with Alec Burks scoring 11.

Robinson III and Burks played in their first games back in San Francisco since being sent to Philadelphia at the trade deadline.

The Sixers were in a position for a 2-2 road trip, but instead will finish at 1-3 and will return home on Wednesday to host the Detroit Pistons. [lawrence-related id=27281,27260,27273]

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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Eric Paschall leads Warriors to 18 point road comeback vs. Suns to snap losing streak, 115-99

Eric Paschall’s 25 points carried the injury-hampered Warriors to an 18-point comeback victory against the Phoenix Suns.

The Golden State Warriors’ day did not start as planned. The Warriors announced Stephen Curry’s return would be moved back from his original target date of March 1. The news around Curry’s injury followed Golden State ruling out a trio of players against the Phoenix Suns.

Yet, the shorthanded Warriors pulled off one of their best wins of the season in Phoenix with a 115-99 comeback victory.

Without Draymond Green, Jordan Poole and Ky Bowman, the Warriors only had eight healthy players and no true point guard against the Suns. Golden State started the game in Phoenix falling down 18 points in the first half. However, the second half was a different story.

The Warriors roared back to outscore the Suns 31-16 in the third quarter. Golden State completely erased the 18 point deficit to take the lead going into the final period.

Rookie Eric Paschall carried Golden State’s comeback, scoring 25 points in 33 minutes off the bench. The Villanova product was Steve Kerr’s primary scoring option on offense, with Damion Lee finding him as the lead ball-handler. Lee dished out a career-high eight assists while scoring 20 points and grabbing five rebounds.

Seven of Golden State’s eight-man rotation scored in double figures to snap the Warriors eight-game losing streak.

The Turnover Battle

Although the Warriors had a limited rotation, the point-guardless team protected the rock. Golden State only turned the ball over 10 times, while their opponent nearly doubled that number with 19 turnovers.

Phoenix All-Star Devin Booker scored 21 points on 6-of-16 shooting, but turned the ball over six times. The Suns’ backcourt of Ricky Rubio and Booker combined to turn the ball over more than the entire Warriors team with 11.

Every starter for the Warriors recorded a steal against the Suns, with Marquese Chriss and Andrew Wiggins each swiping three steals.

Mychal Mulder

Paschall and Lee will make headlines, but 10-day contract player Mychal Mulder was a crucial factor in Golden State’s comeback victory. Mulder scored his first NBA points in 14 points on 3-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. The Kentucky product’s long-range shooting came at a much needed time for Warriors who have been struggling from 3-point land.

Mulder racked up 34 minutes in the second game of his 10-day contract. His play against the Suns should earn him more time on the court through the remainder of his time in Golden State.

Kevon Looney

Kevon Looney‘s 2019-20 season has been defined by injury, yet against the Suns, the Golden State center looked like his old self. Looney scored in double-figures for the second time this season with 10 points while grabbing six rebounds.

Before the game, Steve Kerr said the former high school point guard, could get some time point guard for the Warriors. Looney dished out three assists against the Suns, tied for his season-high.

Report: Steph Curry won’t play Sunday, but March return still expected

Golden State Warriors fans will have to wait a bit longer for Steph Curry’s return.

The return of Steph Curry has been delayed, but the Golden State Warriors still expect to have their superstar guard return to the floor soon.

According to the Warriors’ public relations Twitter account, Curry will not play Sunday against the Washington Wizards as planned. Per the Warriors’ account, Curry is still expected to come back to the floor in March. He will practice Monday with the Santa Cruz Warriors, the Warriors’ G League affiliate.

Curry has been out the past 55 games because of a broken left hand injury he suffered in October against the Phoenix Suns. In four games, Curry has averaged 20.3 points per game and 6.5 assists.

With Curry being held out a bit longer, that shows how the Warriors are thinking long-term. The franchise is in a down year, with the Warriors being the worst team in the NBA. This season has been used to develop some of the team’s young talent such as Marquese Chriss, Andrew Wiggins, Damion Lee, Ky Bowman and Jordan Poole.

Those five players are part of the young core that could be a viable supporting cast next season for the Big 3 of Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

The Warriors will play the Suns in Phoenix on Saturday, with tip off set for 9 p.m. EST.

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Watch: Russell Westbrook ejected vs. Warriors after receiving second technical

Russell Westbrook was ejected in the fourth quarter against the Golden State Warriors with the Houston Rockets up 35 points.

Although the cast is different, there’s still a rivalry between the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets. The tension between the two teams was on display Thursday night.

The game was chippy throughout with Marquese Chriss, Danuel House Jr. and Russell Westbrook receiving technical fouls. In the fourth quarter with the Rockets leading by 35-points, tempers flared.

Westbrook appeared to elbow Damion Lee on a rebound attempt, which sparked an argument between the former Most Valuable Player and the Warriors. Westbrook shrugged his shoulders towards Lee, triggering Juan Toscano-Anderson to rip the basketball from his hands.

Westbrook was guided towards the Warriors bench where the situation escalated. Klay Thompson and Westbrook exchanged words on the sideline before the Rockets guard made his way to Houston’s end of the floor. On the way back to the bench, Westbrook bumped shoulders with fellow UCLA product, Kevon Looney.

Westbrook was assessed his second technical, causing an ejection from the game with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The Rockets All-Star finished the night with 21 points and 10 assists in Houston’s 135-105 road victory.

Westbrook now leads the NBA with 13 technicals on the season, one more than Golden State’s Draymond Green.

Warriors duo top two-way contract players in multiple stat categories

Ky Bowman is leading all two-way contract players in scoring through the 2019-20 NBA season.

The Golden State Warriors haven’t led many categories in the 2019-20 NBA season; in fact, it’s almost the opposite of the past. The Warriors are on a season-high nine-game losing streak with a record that sits at the bottom of the Western Conference.

The Warriors’ down season has primarily come due to injuries, but within the wreckage, the door has opened for a bevy of young members on the Golden State roster.

The Warriors have had to dip deep into their rotation, leaning heavily on two-way contract players. Ky Bowman, Damion Lee and now Marquese Chriss have all received significant playing time.

Lee has been impressive enough for Golden State to convert his two-way contract into a multi-year deal with the full-time squad. To open a spot for Lee, the Warriors waived Chriss but quickly brought him back on a two-way agreement once Lee’s contract was converted.

Before accepting his full-time NBA deal, Lee led all two-way contract players in scoring with another member of Golden State, Bowman, right behind him. Miami Heat two-way guard Chris Silva followed the Warriors duo in scoring before also being converted to a full-time deal in Miami.

Now, with Chriss on a two-way deal, his numbers from earlier in the NBA season sit on top of two-way contract leaders, beating out Bowman as the leading scorer.

Chriss’s 272 points lead Bowman by one point with 271 on the season. The Warriors pairing of Chriss and Bowman lead all two-way contract players in not only total points but rebounds, assists, steals and minutes.

Bowman is averaging 7.5 points per game, 2.6 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game in 36 games played. The Boston College product has limited service time remaining on his contract before his two-way deal expires. However, the Warriors do have the option of sending him to the G League until they can offer him a full-time deal.

Recently, Golden State sent Bowman to their G League affiliate in Santa Cruz for a short stint in the G League, where he threw down a windmill slam dunk.

With Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevon Looney all dealing with injuries that have taken them out for a significant part of the 2019-20 season, the Warriors will need to continue to rely on the service of their two-way contracted players. Chriss and Bowman’s statistical hold on the rest of the two-way contract talent in the NBA should continue to grow.

Report: Warriors sign Damion Lee to contract with partial guarantee

Damion Lee’s new standard contract is evidence of his potential as a solid NBA role player.

Golden State Warriors wing Damion Lee has put in the work, and now he’s starting to reap the benefits of his consistency.

According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Lee has signed a three-year contract with the Warriors, and there’s a partial guarantee for the 2020-21 season.

Lee was previously playing under a two-way contract, but because of injuries to other players, as well as his contributions this season, the Warriors have used him more often. He recently hit the 45-day limit two-way players are allotted to play with their respective NBA clubs.

As he’s waited for his standard contract to be finalized, Lee has not played with Golden State since the team’s Jan. 10 game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

A third-year player out of Louisville, Lee was also under a two-way contract last season with the Warriors.

This season, though, Lee has proven he can be a key role player in the league. He’s started a career-high 13 games, and he’s played 26.8 minutes a game. With Lee playing more, he’s shown his scoring and shooting abilities. He’s averaging a career-high 12.3 points per game and is shooting 36.0% from the 3-point line.

With Lee earning a bit more security, it shows the Warriors recognize his potential. The Warriors will play the Denver Nuggets in Golden State on Thursday at 10:30 p.m. EST.

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Hard Cap Update: How Damion Lee and Marquese Chriss fit the Warriors

Now the Warriors have a pathway to convert Lee and potentially Chriss later in the season without needing to trade anybody.

According to multiple reports the Warriors have agreed to re-sign forward Marquese Chriss to a two-way contract. Chriss was waived last week to avoid having his contract becoming fully guaranteed for the rest of the season. The move saved the Warriors $861,760 against the hard cap, or apron.

January 15 is the deadline to sign players to two-way contracts. This will prompt several teams to convert their two-way players to standard contracts so they can add new players to those newly available two-way slots.

Both two-way slots on the Warriors roster are currently occupied by Damion Lee and Ky Bowman. It was reported last week by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN that the Warriors plan on converting Lee onto the regular-season roster. It hasn’t happened yet, but they will presumably do so by the end of January 15 in order to free up a two-way slot for Chriss.

Lee’s minimum salary decreases every day by $9,156. Had they signed him to a prorated minimum contract on January 7 when Wojnarowski first reported the Warriors plan to convert him, his cap hit would’ve been $915,573. That would’ve left them $321,112 below the apron.

Warriors cap sheet if they sign Damion Lee to a prorated minimum contract on January 15.
Warriors cap sheet if they sign Damion Lee to a prorated minimum contract and Marquese Chriss to a two-way contract on January 15.

By signing Lee to a prorated minimum contract on January 15, his cap hit will be $842,327. This would leave the Warriors $394,358 below the apron, a $73,246 higher cushion versus converting him on January 7.

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The significance of those savings is that it allows the Warriors to potentially convert Chriss onto the regular-season roster once his prorated 24-day two-way clock runs out without needing to trade anyone. According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, Chriss is likely to earn the Warriors’ final roster spot.

There had been several reports that the Warriors were looking to trade a role player in order to create sufficient space below the apron to convert Lee. Now the Warriors have a pathway to convert Lee and potentially Chriss later in the season without needing to trade anybody.

If the Warriors do not make a salary-reducing trade, the earliest they can convert Chriss onto the regular-season roster would be March 4, assuming he signs a prorated minimum deal for the rest of the season. If the Warriors want to sign him to a multi-year deal, the earliest he could sign it is on March 6.

It is unclear what this means for Bowman, who as of January 6 only had six days remaining on his two-way clock. It is still possible that the Warriors could make a trade that would give them more apron space to convert Bowman as well. Otherwise, he must remain with the Santa Cruz Warriors.

With contract not finalized, Damion Lee out for second straight game

The Warriors will be without Damion Lee against the Dallas Mavericks as his two-way contract service time has expired and his full-time NBA deal has yet to be finalized.

It’s usually been injuries that’s hampered the Golden State Warriors 2019-20 season, but with Damion Lee, things are a little more complicated. The Warriors will be without Lee when Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks roll into San Francisco Tuesday night. However, Lee is not dealing with an injury.

Lee is still on his two-way contract with the Golden State Warriors, and he’s exhausted the 45-day service time limit on his deal. Until his full-time contract is finalized with the Dubs, he will be relegated to the bench.

Two-way contract players are only allowed to spend 45-days with their NBA club, with the rest of their time spent in the G League. Against the Los Angeles Clippers last week, Lee spent the last of his 45-days with Golden State.

Before capping his two-way contract, the Golden State Warriors waived Marquese Chriss to reportedly open up a full-time spot on the roster for Lee.

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1214429755648413696?s=20

Due to their salary cap restrictions, Lee is stuck waiting while the Warriors finalize his contract, costing the shooting guard two-straight games.

While Lee isn’t suited up, he’s still expected to remain in Golden State for the future. Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle reported this should be the last game Lee misses, as he’s expected to have a multi-year contract finalized soon.

The Warriors could use Lee’s service as they’ve dropped eight straight games, triggering their season-high losing streak for the 2019-20 NBA season. While Golden State has struggled to find a win, Lee has played well, earning a starting role for the Warriors.

Lee has started 13-straight games before hitting his 45-day limit on his two-way contract. The Baltimore native is averaging 12.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game for Golden State this season.