w?ith Steph Curry set to miss the next month or so with a shoulder injury, everyone on the Golden State Warriors will have to step up in his absence, but especially Jordan Poole. The young guard did just that on Sunday, leading the Warriors to a much-needed 126-110 win over the Toronto Raptors.Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole (3) tries to trouble around Toronto Raptors forward Thaddeus Young (21) during the first half at Scotiabank Arena.
Poole finished with a career-high 43 points on 14-of-23 from the field and 5-of-11 from 3-point land, and added six assists in 34 minutes. After 15 career 30-point outings, Poole finally reached the 40-point mark for the first time.
"He's played a lot of great games for us," Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. "If it's not the best, it's definitely one of the few best. He was great at both ends. His defense was excellent, I thought he was patient offensively, got us into our offense well. He just set the tone and he carried us."
For a variety of reasons, Poole's season got off to a somewhat poor start. First and foremost, Draymond Green struck him in the face during training camp, which created an odd atmosphere for the Warriors' title defense. Given his breakthrough performance in 2021–22, he also served as the leader of some extremely youthful bench units early in the season and was much more prominent in opponents' scouting reports.
The fact that he was forced back into the starting lineup because of injuries, meanwhile, has contributed to his improved performance since the calendar switched to December. He won't get to play alongside Curry for a few weeks, but he will now have much greater control over the ball.
The benefit of that situation: Poole finished the game with a career-high 43 points on 14 of 23 field goal attempts and 5 of 11 three-point attempts. He also had six assists in just 34 minutes. Poole finally hit the 40-point plateau for the first time after 15 games with 30 or fewer points in his career.
He has contributed greatly to several of our victories, according to Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. "Even if it's not the best, it's unquestionably among the best. He excelled on both ends. His offensive patience and outstanding defense let us get into our offense. He only established the tone and led the way for us."
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