The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahamian sharpshooter Chavano “Buddy” Hield cracked top-20 territory on the NBA All-Time made threes list earlier this month and has continued to climb the list ever since.

The Golden State Warriors shooting guard recently surpassed NBA Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki for the 18th spot on the NBA All-Time three pointers made list in the Warriors’ 105-101 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Chase Centre on November 27.

Hield led the bench unit with 17 points, three rebounds and a steal in 23 minutes played. He knocked down 5-of-8 shots from deep and had two makes at the charity stripe. He crossed up an OKC defender to create slight separation before canning the historic three in the right corner at the 2:46 mark of the opening period. It was his first of five threes on the night and placed the Warriors within 8 (29-21) on the scoreboard.

The three-point specialist now has a total of 1,987 made three pointers in his NBA career since being drafted as the sixth overall pick by the New Orleans Pelicans in 2016. 

He needs just one three to tie things with former Dallas Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd at 1.988 and needs just thirteen more threes to hit 2,000 career makes from deep.

Hield has remained a steady option for the Warriors off the bench this season, averaging 15.6 ppg, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 46.5 per cent from the field and 44.1 per cent on threes.

As for the Warriors, the team fell to third spot in the Western Conference with a 12-6 win/loss record. Meanwhile, the Thunder, playing without the services of Chet Holmgren, remain atop the West with a 14-4 record.

Golden State fought tooth and nail to the end against the OkC Thunder while playing without All-Star point guard Stephen Curry, but were unable to withstand a game-high 35 points from Shal Gilgeous-Alexander in Wednesday night’s loss.

The Thunder quickly took advantage of the ball game against the undermanned Warriors with a double digit 24-12 lead at the midway mark of the first period.

“Buddy” helped to weather the Thunder with a timely step back three to shift the score to 29-21 at the 2:46 mark of the first. 

Nonetheless, the Warriors were in a 16-point hole (39-23) going into the second quarter of play.

The Thunder continued to steamroll the Warriors in the following period, extending the deficit by as much as 19 points in the beginning minutes of the second period.

A three by Hield off an assist from Pat Spencer jump started a 10-0 Golden State run to trim the gap down to 8 (41-33).

Despite outscoring OKC 27-23 in the second period, the Warriors were still behind 62-50 at the halftime mark.

The Warriors put their first half woes behind them to mount a rally in the third period. Brandin Podziemski connected on a three at the 6:09 juncture to put the Warriors within 4 (74-70).

OKC’s Isaiah Joe and GSW’s Hield exchanged threes on back-to-back possessions late in third but the Warriors were still fighting from behind 84-81.

Spencer made a layup for GSW to wrap up the third separated by just 1 (84-83).

After former Timberwolves big Kyle Anderson gave the Warriors the lead 86-84, it was a see-saw affair down the stretch in the fourth.

In the game’s final moments, Andrew Wiggins nailed a three to put the Warriors within 1 (102-101) with 11 seconds remaining in the game. Hield committed a foul on Gilgeous-Alexander, who proceeded to cash in on two makes at the free throw line.

Wiggins attempted his late game heroics again, this time with a driving layup that was blocked by Luguentz Dort.

The Warriors had to foul again and Gilgeous-Alexander iced the game on his final two attempts at the line to seal the game 105-101.

Johnathan Kuminga had a game-high 19 points to pair with 4 rebounds for the Warriors in the loss. 

Hield and the Warriors will return to action on Saturday at 9pm versus the Phoenix Suns at the Footprint Centre.