SAN FRANCISCO — For as sour a note Jordan Poole left Golden State, his return to Chase Center was every bit the warm reunion prior to the Warriors’ blowout 129-118 win over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.
The Warriors have won four in a row and are back to .500 with a 14-14 record.
No only was there some mystery around how Warriors fans would react to Poole’s return, but questions about how Poole would act in his first time back around the organization that shipped him off in his prime for 38-year-old Chris Paul. A lot of the tension was lifted with Draymond Green, who punched him last year, serving an indefinite suspension and not in the building.
Everything Poole has not answered about the controversial end to his Warriors career showed in the way he interacted with all his other former teammates and coaches. He came to the court hours early, throwing a few shots up as he patrolled the sidelines to greet his former teammates he won a championship with. He gave Kevon Looney a bear hug, laughed with Gary Payton II and Steph Curry and chatted up Klay Thompson.
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Fans rose for an ovation, “Poole Party” signs in tow, and Poole appeared to get emotional as the Warriors played a tribute video for his four years in Golden State.
It was worth wondering, too, if the inefficient or lethal-scorer version of Poole would show up after tip-off; it was a little bit of both as he scored 25 points scoring an inefficient 3-of-12 from 3 and 7-of-21 from the field.
Curry’s 30-point night, shooting 8-for-13 from 3 inflated the Warriors’ first blowout win of the year, allowing him to sit the entire fourth quarter, other starters sat out for the majority of the fourth.
Chase Center turned into a mini lob city against the Wizards’ poor defense with Jonathan Kuminga and Trayce Jackson-Davis feasting at and above the rim. Kuminga had 22 points on 8-for-11 from the field and Jackson-Davis recorded a consecutive double-doubles with 10 points with 15 rebounds. Chris Paul had 10 assists and was a plus-27 in 25 minutes. After the game, Poole found coach Steve Kerr for a long embrace and swapped jerseys with Looney.
The Warriors finish this home stand against the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday before heading to Denver to play the Nuggets on Christmas.
