A Lindy Waters III buzzer-beating game-winner has lifted the Golden State Warriors to a 91-90 victory over the L.A. Clippers in their preseason opener at Stan Sheriff Center in Hawaii.
After being acquired by the Warriors via trade in June, Waters couldn’t have been more impressive in the second-half as he capped off his performance with a deep turning three-pointer at the buzzer.
Lindy Waters III made five threes in the Warriors one-point victory
In a game Golden State shot 11-of-48 (22.9%) from three-point range, Waters was the lone man on fire with a team-high 15 points on 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. A noted three-point specialist during his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Waters made a strong push for more opportunity with the team’s regular players after playing just over 15 minutes in the second half.
Steve Kerr utilized all 19 of his available players, having started Stephen Curry, De’Anthony Melton, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis in a new-look opening five that was absent the ill Andrew Wiggins.
Moses Moody was arguably the story for Golden State through the first three quarters, making his case for a solidified rotation role after coming in as the 11th man on Saturday. The 22-year-old knocked down a corner catch-and-shoot triple and another tough moving three off the dribble, finishing with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the floor and 2-of-5 from three-point range.
Moody’s impact was far more than his scoring though, having also recorded four rebounds and two steals in his 13 minutes. The former 14th overall pick was a +14, while no other Warrior was a +5 in the one-point win.
Starting next to Curry in the back court, Melton was also impressive in his Warrior preseason debut. The 26-year-old had eight points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal in his 12 minutes, having shot 2-of-5 from three-point range while showing no signs of the back injury that limited him to just 38 games with the Philadelphia 76ers last season.
It was a clunky offensive display from the Warriors who were 2-of-31 from three-point range outside Waters, Moody and Melton. Brandin Podziemski went 1-of-9 from the floor, Curry went 2-of-8 in his 14 minutes, and Buddy Hield 2-of-7 after making his first three-point attempt in the opening period.
Golden State shot 33.7% from the floor as a team, but grabbed 19 offensive rebounds to help generate 20 more field-goal attempts than the Clippers. The Warriors will now return home from Hawaii before playing the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on Wednesday night.