Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) and Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) fight during the second quarter at Oracle Arena.(Photo: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)

by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The Golden State Warriors won a wild one Friday night as the came back from a fourteen-point deficit at halftime to beat the Wizards 120-117. The Wizards had everything going their way the entire first half of the game. They made eleven 3-point shots while the Warriors were ice-cold from downtown. The Warriors made just three 3-pointers and trailed by fourteen 67-53 at the half. The Wizards had the Warriors on their heels as they ran the court well and had open looks as they drained three-pointers. Otto Porter and Kelly Oubre were doing the damage for the Wizards.

Marcin Gortat tallied twelve for the Wizards, and he was a force under the basket. The Warriors just could not get the offense going, and it looked as if Washington was going to run the Warriors off the court. Klay Thompson led the Warrior attack with 13, Steph had 12, and Kevin Durant was held to 7. However, with 19.5 seconds left to play in the second quarter, Washington’s backcourt ace, Bradley Beal got into a scuffle with Draymond Green. Green had position under the basket. Beal grabbed Draymond’s jersey with one hand and with the other, wrapped his right arm around Draymond’s neck. Draymond and Beal grabbed each other as teammates raced to break them up. Beal was given a technical foul and ejected. Draymond also received a technical but would not have had to leave the game except for the fact that he had picked up a technical earlier in the game.

In the second half, Coach Steve Kerr had to rely on his bench. David West, the veteran center, gave the Warriors a lift as he made eight shots in nine tries good for 16 points. Kevon Looney and Omri Casspi combined to tally 17. The Warriors started to play better defense, and Kevin Durant and Steph Curry picked up the offense. The Warriors outscored the Wizards 34-30 in the third quarter to trail by 10. Steph Curry made two 3-point shots and two free throws in the last minute of the third quarter.

The Warriors, for the second game in a row, rose to the challenge and came back to send the Wizards down to defeat. The Dubs outscored them 33-20 in the fourth quarter and won by three 120-117. It wasn’t easy, but the Warriors know how to win. They continued to play sound defense, and they made the Wizards work for their shots. The Warriors went on a 9-0 run late in the quarter to take a 116-109 lead.

The Wizards scored the next four points to trail by three 116-113 with 1:41 left. The Dubs made a bucket while the Wizards’ John Wall missed a free throw as the Warriors increased the lead to four 118-114. The Wizards kept the pressure on as they made a three-point shot and it was a one-point-game when they fouled Durant with 9.4 seconds left. Durant made both free throws. The Wizards took a timeout and inbounded the ball from the forecourt. The Warriors did not foul, and it almost cost them as the Wizards missed a three. The Warriors did not get the rebound and with 1.1 seconds left Washington could not capitalize, and the Dubs won.

Game Notes and stats- The Warriors honored Al Attles Friday night. Unfortunately, Al could not attend as he was in the hospital. Attles has been with the club for 58 years. He was a player, coach, general manager, and now the goodwill ambassador for the club. Attles was the coach when the Warriors won the NBA championship in 1975.

Steve Kerr had this to say about Attles. “Great to honor him,” Kerr said. “I know our fans who have been following us for a long time know about Al’s influence, but 57 years with the organization, obviously he won the championship with the team in `75, was GM, drafted Chris Mullin, one of the best players early on in the Warriors history. He’s pretty much done it all. Fitting tonight, we will honor him and his family. We know he’ll be watching on TV. I hope he’s not offended by my suit.”

Kevin Durant led the Dubs with 31 points, six assists, and eleven rebounds. Steph had 20 points, 8 assists, and five boards. Klay added 18. The Warrior bench of David West, Andre Iguodala, Kevon Looney, and Omri Casspi scored 40 points and helped ignite the comeback. Shaun Livingston was not available as he was away attending a funeral. Jordan Bell was inactive for the game.

Leading scorers for Washington were Otto Porter with 29. Kelly Oubre 19, Marcin Gortat 18, John Wall 20, Mike Scott and Jodie Meeks, coming off the bench, tallied 14 and 10 respectively for the Wizards.

The Warriors meet the Detroit Pistons Sunday at Oracle Arena. Game time is at 5:00 pm