Category: Golden State Warriors

The Warriors win a thriller, beat the Bucks in Milwaukee

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors and the Milwaukee Bucks played a very fast-paced and very entertaining game Saturday night in Milwaukee. The contest was very close, but the Dubs were able to prevail as they won their seventh game in a row downing the Bucks 124-121.

Last year, The Dubs lost to Milwaukee after playing a double overtime win in Boston the previous night.  The Bucks then beat the Warriors the following night to snap the Warriors twenty-four game winning streak. This year, the schedule makers sent the Dubs to Boston on Friday night and then to Milwaukee on Saturday night. The Warriors did not have to go to overtime to beat the Celtics on Friday. However, the Bucks, coached by Jason Kidd, a great high school player at St.Joseph’s in Alameda and at Cal and an All-Star in the NBA, went tooth and nail against the Warriors and nearly came back from an eleven point deficit at the end of three-quarters to beat them. The Dubs defense held the Bucks to just one point in the last two minutes and thirty-three seconds to seal the win.

The first quarter was very close. The bigger Bucks, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker, went on a 21-5 run at the end of the first quarter to lead by nine 37-28.The Bucks were on fire as they shot 66.7% from the field and made all three three-point shots. The Warriors shot 47.8% and were three for seven from behind the three-point arc. The Bucks led for most of the second quarter, but the Dubs clawed their way back and took the lead late in the period. The finished the first half leading by three 69-66. Kevin Durant was terrific as he led the Dubs with twenty-five points. Steph had eleven and Klay Thompson had just four. Zazu Pachulia played well as did Andre Iguodala, coming off the bench. The Bucks’ shooting percentage dropped to 59.6%, and the Dubs came in at 47.1%. The Warriors made six 3-point shots in the quarter and the Bucks connected on just one.

In the third quarter, Klay Thompson got hot. He made four three-point shots and eighteen points total in the period. JaVale MvGee scored a couple of key buckets as the Dubs increased the lead to eleven. Draymond Green made a great play when he stole the ball and made a slam dunk with 2:57 left. The Dubs had the lead 103-92 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Dubs increased the lead to thirteen, but Milwaukee refused to go down. The Bucks went on a 14-4 run to close the gap to four 114-110. The Warriors, behind a layup by Steph, owned a five-point lead 122-117. Milwaukee narrowed the deficit to two 122-120 with 2:33 left in the game. The Warriors defense, led by Draymond Green, stiffened and allowed Milwaukee just one point in the last two minutes and thirty-three seconds of play. Draymond Green mad the defensive play of the night when he tipped an inbound pass over to Klay Thompson. Thompson was fouled and made both free throws to increase the lead to four with just a few seconds left. The Bucks’ big man, Giannis Antetokounmpo was fouled. The only hope the Bucks had was that he make the first free throw, then miss the second shot and hope the ball would be tipped to another Buck player for a three-point shot. That strategy failed, and the Dubs recorded their seventh win in a row. Warriors win 124-121.

Game Notes- The Warriors are now 11-2 for the season. The Bucks fall to 5-7. The Warriors had thirty assists in the game for the seventh straight game. Kevin Durant led the Warriors with thirty-three points, five assists, and six rebounds. Klay knocked down twenty-nine, nd Steph had twenty. Steph also had five assists and five rebounds. Draymond Green played very well again. He scored ten points, to go along with five assists, two rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. The Dubs recorded a total of eight steals and five blocks in the game. Leading scorers for Milwaukee were Antetokopounmpo with thirty, Jabari Parker added twenty-eight and former Cleveland Cavalier, Matthew Dellavedova, contributed ten.

After the game, Durant, when asked about the play of Draymond Green, had this to say:”he was huge.” He also said this about how close the game was” no matter how you do it it, a win is a win.” Coach Steve Kerr also said this about the win:”any win on the road is a good win.” When asked about the defense, Kerr said we”made some stops down the stretch.” “It was the first close game in a while and it was good for us.” He also said  that “we wre kinda sitting on the lead” in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors finish the four game road trip Monday Night in Indianapolis playing the Indiana Pacers for the first time this season. Game Time will be at 4:00 PM.PT

The Warriors win their sixth in a row, beat the Boston Celtics

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Boston-The Golden State Warriors beat the Celtics Friday night by a score of 104-88. The Warriors, keeping in mind the tough time they had last year beating the Celtics in double overtime, won the game in the third quarter as the outscored the Celts 31-9 to put the game out of reach.

The first quarter was close. The biggest lead the Dubs owned was 25-16. The Celtics went on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 27. James Michael McAdoo made a two-point bucket at the end of the quarter to give the Dubs the lead 29-27. The Warriors, behind the stellar play of Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, increased the lead to eight 55-48 at the half. The Warriors played solid defense holding the Celtics to just twenty-one points in the second quarter. Draymond Green, Zazu Pachulia, and Andre Iguodala all did their jobs. Pachulia rebounded, Green rebounded, made assists, blocked shots and Andre Iguodala was terrific off the bench.

The third quarter belonged to Golden State. The Warriors went on a 24-3 run to start the third quarter.Klay was hot, and Green made two three-point shots early in the quarter. The Warriors held theCeltics to just nine points. It was the fewest points allowed in any quarter this season. The quarter ended with the Dubs ahead by twenty-nine 86-57. The Dubs went to sleep in the final period of the game. The Celtics outscored the Warriors 30-13 at one point to close the gap to eleven 99-88 but Steph Curry hit a three then a layup to put the game out of reach.

Game Notes- Klay Thompson led the Dubs with 28 points. Kevin Durant had a double-double. He was second in scoring with 23 and he pulled dow 10 boards and had 7 assists. Steph Curry didn’t score a lot. He had sixteen but had seven assists. Draymond contributed 11 points, eight assists ,and eight rebounds. Zaza Pachulia had 12 rebounds.The Dubs had ten steals and seven blocked shots as the defense was superb. They shot 48.9% from the floor and had thirty-three assists in the contest. It was the sixth straight game the Dubs had 30 or more assists and the eighth time this seasonIsiah Thomas had 18 for Boston. Avery Bradley chipped in with 17 and rookie Jaylen Brown had 11 as did Terry Rozier.

After the game, Durant said this about his teammates”they help me out a lot”. He also remarked this about his performance Friday night” I just want to contribute the best way I can.” He commented that”the defense was great.” Klay Thompson also said,”we just played great defense.” CVoach Steve Kerr said:”when we went to the smaller lineup,[there was]lots of switching, getting our hands up”. Kerr observed that the “guys are getting more comfortable with each other.” There was one downside as Kerr had this to say about the team’s performance:”we still haven’t put four quarters together but we are playing longer stretches of good basketball.”

The Warriors face the Milwaukee Bucks Saturday night in Milwaukee. Last year, the Buck ended the Dubs twenty-four game winning streak the night after the Warriors beat the Celtics. The Warriors do not want to have history repeat. Game time ia at 5:30 PM.

 

 

The Warriors defeat the Raptors, it was not easy

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Toronto- The Golden State Warriors downed the Toronto Raptors 127-121 Wednesday night in Toronto. The Raptors were playing the second game of a back-to-back series. They faced the Cleveland Cavaliers Tuesday night and lost 121-117. The Raptors, however, did not show any signs of fatigue as they scored thirty-eight points in the first quarter to take a four-point lead 38-34 over the Dubs. The Warriors, as has been their custom so far this season, started slowly. The trailed by ten 29-19 late in the quarter. The Raptors were controlling the boards on defense and driving the lane attacking the rim on offense. Raptor center, Jonas Valanciunas, scored eight points and clogged the middle for Toronto. The Dubs closed the gap to four late in the quarter. Kevin Durant hit a three-point shot as time expired. The Warriors came to life in the second quarter. The Warriors took the lead 41-40 when Durant hit another three. Toronto regained the lead and led by four 49-45 when Steph, KD, and Draymond Green went to work. The Dubs went on a 21-2 run at the end of the quarter to take a thirteen point lead 66-53. They outscored the Raptors 32-15 in the second quarter.

In the second half, Klay Thompson got hot, and the Dubs increased the lead to twenty(74-54). The Dubs appeared to have put the game away, but the Raptors are not exactly chopped liver. They fought back behind the play of Demar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry. The Dubs had no rhythm and were committing dumb fouls. DeRozan kept going to the charity stripe and the Raptors went on a 17-4 run to trail by nine 95-86 at the end of three.

The Warriors behind Steph, Andre Iguodala, Patrick McCaw were able to fend off the Raptors as they refused to go down. DeRozan kept making free throws, but Shaun Livingston and David West made key buckets for the Dubs. McCaw sank a three-point shot from the corner and played well on defense making a couple of steals. The Warriors held on to win 127-121.

Game Notes- With the win, the Dubs improve to 9-2. The Raptors drop to 7-4. Steph led the scoring with thirty-five points. KD had thirty, and he had six assists and nine rebounds. Draymond added eleven, and he had five assists and seven rebounds. Draymond also had a couple of steals and several blocks in the contest. Klay Thompson scored fifteen, but he made three key three-point shots in the third quarter.

DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with thirty-four points. He made all seventeen free throws, too. Kyle Lowry had twenty-four. Valanciunas had twelve, and Corey Joseph(14) and Terrence Ross(11) helped the Raptors, albeit in a losing cause.

The Warriors became the first team since 1990 to shoot better tan 50% from the floor and had thirty plus assists in five straight games.

The Warriors travel to Boston to play the Celtics Friday night.

The Warriors dominate the Nuggets in Denver

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Denver- The Golden State Warriors played well all four quarters of Thursday night’s game in Denver and defeated the young Denver Nuggets 125-101. The Warriors excelled on offense and defense.The Dubs put the pedal to the metal and they did not let up all night long. They Looked like the potent force that everyone expects them to be and they did it for all four quarters. Steph Curry did his work  in just three-quarters of play. Steph tallied thirty-three points. He had seven assists and five rebounds. Steph scored fifteen in the third quarter alone and made seven 3-point shots in the game. The Dubs led by twenty-four at the end of three and Steph sat out the rest of night. The Nuggets entered the game with a record of 3-4 under coach Mike Malone. The Warriors expected to have a tough night as the Nuggets had two 7-foot players, Jusuf Nurkic and Nikita Jokic, in their starting lineup. The Nuggets entered the game leading the league in rebounding. The Warriors’ centers met the challenge.

The Nuggets last lead occurred in the first quarter when they were ahead 6-3. The Warriors went on a 17-2 run to take the lead for good. They led 38-19 at the end of the first quarter. Steph had fourteen in the period. The big story was the play of JaVale Mcgee. McGee entered the game after Zaza Pachulia picked up two quick fouls. Draymond Green added eight points and had two assists and two rebounds in the first twelve minutes of the contest.

The Warriors continued to assert themselves and showed everyone ow good they could be. Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, David West and Shaun Livingston all contributed as the Warriors finished the half leading 65-51. The Nuggets closed the gap near the end of the half, but the Warriors were in complete control.

Steph took command in the third period as he netted fifteen points. He made four 3-pointers and seven for the game.  The Warriors led by thirty-one 97-66 late in the third quarter. Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson played in the fourth quarter, but they came out when the issue was well in hand about halfway through the final stanza. The Warriors win 125-101.

Game Notes- Kevin Durant’s seventy-two consecutive game streak of scoring at least twenty points ended as Durant left with eighteen. Durant had five assists and nine rebounds. Draymond added thirteen, and he also had five assists and nine boards. The Big news was the combined play of Zazu Pachulia, David West, and Javale McGee. They put in a total of nineteen from the center position. McGee had ten, and the play of the big men negated the Nuggets’ Twin Towers. Five Nuggets scored double figures. Rookie Jamal Murray led them with fourteen. The Dubs shot 54.1% from the floor. They made fourteen 3-point shots in thirty attempts for a percentage of 46.7%. The Dubs had forty-four rebounds to tie the Nuggets in that department. The Warriors defense had fifteen steals and six blocked shots in the win. The Warriors improve to 7-2, and the Nuggets drop to 3-5. The Warriors played their ninety-fifth consecutive game without back-to-back losses.

The Warriors return home to face the Phoenix Suns Sunday afternoon at Oracle Arena.at 5 pm PT.

The Warriors roll over the depleted Mavericks 116-95

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The Golden State Warriors beat the Dallas Mavericks 116-95 at the Oracle Arena Wednesday night. Former Warrior starters Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut returned to the Bay Area for the first time since they left the club after last season. Both players received a very warm welcome from the fans when they were introduced before the start of the game. Barnes played and scored twenty-five points for Dallas, but Bogut did not play at all. In fact, Dirk Nowitzki sat out the game as well as guards Wesley Matthews and Deron Williams.

The Warriors played a terrific first half. The only time the Dubs didn’t lead was early in the first quarter when the game was tied at seven. Klay Thompson, who had been in a shooting slump, was on fire. He scored eighteen points in the first twelve minutes of play. He had four three-point shots and two buckets for his eighteen. Kevin Durant hit two three-point shots as did Draymond Green. The Dubs led by nineteen 34-15 after one period of play.

The Warriors remained hot in the second stanza as their defense continued to shut down the Dallas attack. In the meantime, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Draymond Green led the relentless Warrior offense, and the Dubs led at the half by thirty-three points 67-34.

The third quarter, however, was a different story. The Mavericks went on a 25-9 run while the Warriors went to sleep. Steph Curry twisted his right ankle early in the third quarter and went to the locker room for treatment. He would return later. The Dubs were three-for-eleven from the floor with eight minutes played. They got back on track when Steph returned and led by sixteen 84-68 at the end of three. Steph took over in the fourth period and the Dubs led by twenty-three 103-80. Kevin Durant also played very well in the win. Steve Kerr inserted his bench players Kevon Looney, Patrick McCaw, J’Vale McGee, and Ian Clark to play against the Mavs’ bench players.

Kevin Durant led Golden State with 28 points and ten rebounds. Steph had 24 and six assists. Draymond Green had sixteen points, four assists, and ten boards. The Warriors shot 58.1% from the floor and made 17 three-point shots. They shot  51.5% from behind the arc. The Warriors moved the ball well as they had thirty-three assists in the game. The Mavs leading scorers were Harrison Barnes(25), 7Justin Anderson(16, seven assists and 8 rebounds), Dwight Powell(14points,9 boards). The Mavs shot 39.5% from the floor and just 21.9% on three-point shots.

The Warriors improve to 6-2 for the season and Dallas falls to 2-6. Mavs’ owner, Mark Cuban was in attendance at the Arena Wednesday night.
The Warriors play a back-to-back game Thursday night against the Denver Nuggets in Denver. Game time will be at 6:30pm PT.

 

Steph Curry sets a NBA record as the Dubs slip past the Pelicans

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- Steph Curry led the Dubs to victory over the New Orleans Pelicans 116-106 Monday night at Oracle Arena, As usual, the Dubs got off to a slow start. The Pelicans held the lead for most of the first period until Steph hit a three-pointer to tie the game at seventeen. Steph hit his third three-pointer to put Golden State ahead 22-19. The Dubs finished the quarter leading 28-24. Steph made three-threes.

The Warriors played extremely well in the second quarter. They ran, they shot, they scored, they played defense, and they rebounded. At one point, they went on a 26-5 run to take twenty-one point lead. However, the Pelicans refused to fold, and they cut the lead to fourteen as they trailed 63-49 at the half. Steph led the Dubs with twenty-three. Klay Thompson added fifteen, and Kevin Durant chipped in with thirteen. Anthony Davis led the Pelicans with fifteen. The Pelicans’ bench outscored the Warriors’ bench 22-8. The Dubs shot 53.2% from the floor, and they made eight three-point shots in nineteen attempts. They also scored nineteen fastbreak points in the half.

The third period was an entirely different story. The Dubs went to sleep for almost eight minutes in the third quarter. The Pelicans went on a 19-4 run to take the lead 73-72. The Pelicans, at this point, outshot, outran and outrebounded the Warriors. However, the two-time MVP took over and led the Dubs on a 12-5 run to give them a six-point lead 84-78 at the end of three. At his juncture in the contest, Steph had made ten three-point shots.

The Pelicans refused to quit, and the Dubs had to play well if they wanted to win. Kevin Durant, who did not score a lot in the first three periods of play, came to life and made a couple of key buckets. Steph made three more three-point shots leading Golden State to victory. Steph tied the record of twelve held by Kobe Bryant and Donyell Marshall when he hit a three to put the Dubs ahead 106-97. He broke the record on his next shot to increase the lead to twelve 109-97. The Pelicans could not catch up as the Dubs’s defense was strong in the final stanza of the game.

Game Notes- With the win, the Dubs are now 5-2 for the season. They are in second place just one game behind the LA Clippers. As mentioned earlier, Steph Curry set an NBA record with thirteen threes in the game. It was quite a turnaround as he failed to make a single three-point shot in ten attempts last Friday night in Los Angeles. Steph scored over forty points for the third time in his career against New Orleans. Steph finished the night with forty-six. Klay added 24 and Kevin Durant scored 22. Durant has now scored at least twenty points in 71 consecutive games. Draymond Green was outstanding on defense. He scored just two points but he had eleven assists and twelve rebounds. Anthony Davis led the Pelicans with thirty-three. E’Twaun Moore had fifteen and Tim Frazier knocked thirteen to go along with his ten assists. The Pelicans, under former Warrior assistant coach, Alvin Gentry fall to 0-7. The Pelicans are missing several key players and hope to get on the winning track when they return.

Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr had this to say about Steph. “Quite a show. Not at all surprising. He comes right back after a bad game and lights it up. I didn’t realize he set the record until I got into the locker room.” Kerr , when talking about the team, remarked ” I liked the effort off the bench. I liked 35 assists. It’s a good number.I thought it was a good win and we’ll get better from this. We’ve got to do a better job of putting it all together” Kerr, responding to a question about Draymond Green said” He’s playing as well as he has in past years. The box score is going to look a little different.” Green’s scoring is down and Draymond responded ” I still approach the game this way. If I’m open, I shoot. I attack, mke plays and rebound. Our offense is different. We got a lot of guys that score with the basketball.”

The Warriors entertain the Dallas Mavericks at the Oracle Arena Wednesday night at 7:30 pm. Former Warrior players Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut will make their first appearences against their former teammates since leaving the club at the end of last season.

 

 

Golden State Warriors Friday game wrap: Lakers sky high energy flattens Golden State 117-97 in annual beat down

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By Jessica Kwong

AP photo: The Los Angeles Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr (7) is pulled down by the Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) as Curry’s teammates forward Andre Iguodala (9) and guard Ian Clark (21) watch at Staples Center on Friday night

LOS ANGELES – The star-studded Golden State Warriors – not the rebuilding Los Angeles Lakers – took a 117-97 beating at Staples Center on Friday night as the Splash Brothers had an unusually flat night.

 Stephen Curry finished with 13 points while Draymond Green scored 16 points against a young, Kobe Bryant-less Lakers team. Golden State’s new star, Kevin Durant, lead scoring with 27 points, but they couldn’t manage to catch up to the energetic Lakers.

 Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said his team had bad defense, no-flow offense, and a pretty lousy night all around.

 “It’s our annual beat down at Staples by the Lakers, they do this every year. Let’s just give them credit – they came in sky high with a ton of energy,” Kerr said. “Played really well and we were flat, right from the beginning. Never even had a run the entire game.”

 Los Angeles took a 8-0 lead to start the game, as D’Angelo Russell and Nick Young hit three-pointers. The Warriors hit just one of their first 11 attempts, and the Lakers ran away with a 24-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. Golden State committed 8 turnovers.

 The Warriors tried to catch up in the second quarter and got within 41-34 at the half.

 “That’s a young and hungry team with a new staff and their getting after it,” Draymond said. “We’re obviously going to get everyone’s best shot and we got to know that.”

 The main thing the Lakers succeeded in doing was not letting the Warriors get back in the game. Players responded every time the Warriors tried to come back, “and that’s not easy to do against a team like that,” said Lakers head coach Luke Walton, who was an assistant coach for the Warriors last season.

 “Our guys responded every time and that’s not easy to do against a team like that. Obviously, for us, it was nice that Steph and Klay went 2-20 from three. That helps,” Walton said. “But our guys, form the opening tip, really got after it tonight.”

 The Splash Brothers couldn’t turn their game on in the second half either. More than halfway through the quarter, Durant made an alley-oop dunk from Curry to bring the Warriors within 75-68. With 30 seconds to go, they cut the Lakers’ lead to 89-82, but Lou Williams made a couple of free throws, Curry made a bad pass and Brandon Ingram stole the ball, and Jordan Clarkson hit a jump shot. Lakers led 93-82 at the end of the quarter.

 “You can’t just rely on emotion. You have to be able to rely on execution to win consistently in the NBA. There’s going to be nights where you don’t quite have the energy or the emotion that you had the previous night, so you have to be able to rely on execution, defense and toughness,” Kerr said. “We had none of that.

 While Curry and Green couldn’t seem to make three’s, Williams hit a couple in the fourth quarter as well as a slam dunk and a layup just before the 2-minute mark that gave the Lakers a whooping 20-point lead. With 17 seconds left, Clarkson stole the ball and walked it the other side of the court as the clock ran out and purple and gold confetti fell from the rafters.

 “They had nothing to lose, they were playing with house money,” Durant said of the Lakers. “They came out playing loose, playing the game, playing together, playing with energy, feeding off their crowd and they hit us in the mouth.”

 After the game, Curry didn’t think about losing his consecutive three-point steak until a reporter pointed it out.

 “Oh yeah, that’s right. No, that was a cool little ride,” Curry said. “Would have been cool to finish my career making one every game.”

 Kerr said starting 4-2 “is a good record,” and seeming a bit irked by the question from a reporter, said, “Last year has nothing to do with this year. I don’t care about last year.”

 “I don’t care about the record now, I care about how we’re playing,” Kerr said. “We’ve been totally up and down … It seems like what we’re doing right now is we are going to win or lose based on our emotion and our energy and if shots go in and that’s not a good recipe in this league.”

 The Warriors return to Oracle Arena to face the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m.

 

Golden State Warriors-Los Angeles Lakers game analysis and commentary: The Lakers upset The Dubs, win by twenty.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton knows enough about the Golden State Warriors from coaching them last year came prepared for Friday’s game win at Staples Center

Los Angeles-The late Dinah Washington had a hit song titled “What a difference a day make. Twenty-four little hours.” The Golden State Warriors did not look like the team that blew away the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday night; They were a team that was out of rhythm and made too mistakes both on offense and defense and the Los Angeles Lakers beat them by twenty points 117-97 Friday night in LA Friday night at the Staples Center.

The young Laker team coached by former Warriors’ assistant coach Luke Walton, had no trouble taking the ball to the rim all night long. They outrebounded the Dubs 32-29 in the first half. Golden State had trouble making 3-point shots all night long. In the first half, the Dubs make just two 3-point shots in seventeen attempts. They fell behind by twelve 24-12 late in the stanza. Andre Iguodala made a three but the Lakers countered with a bucket to end the period up by nine 24-15.

The Warriors played better in the second quarter. They scored thirty-four. The Lakers failed to fold, and they poured in forty-one to lead by sixteen at the half.  The Lakers were led by Nick Young(10),Julius Randle(12),D’Angelo Russell(6),Tarik Black(8),Jordan Clarkson(9),and Larry Nance,Jr(8). They outrebounded the Dubs 32-23, and the Warriors turned the ball over nine times.

The Warriors made a run in the third period, but the Lakers rebuffed them at every turn. The Dubs went on a 16-2 run to reduce the deficit to seven. Luke Walton would call a timeout every time the Dubs started to gain momentum, and that seemed to upset the team’s rhythm. The Lakers finished the third quarter ahead by eleven 93-82. Golden State continued to thwart the Warriors every effort to get back in the game. The Lakers went on a 7-0 run to put the game out of reach, and they sent the Dubs down to their second loss of the season 117-97.

Game Notes- The Warriors backcourt duo of Klay Thompson and Steph Curry had, perhaps, one of their worst games ever. Steph scored thirteen points and did not make a single 3-point shot all night. He was 0-for 12 and his NBA record 157 consecutive game streak was snapped. Klay made two 3-point shots but missed eight and tallied just ten points in the contest. Kevin Durant led the Dubs with twenty-seven, and Draymond Green added sixteen. Green had four assists and nine rebounds and was, probably, one of the bright spots on defense for the Dubs. Kevon Looney and Shaun Livingston scored nine and eleven off the bench. Kevin Durant scored at least twenty points in his seventieth straight game.

The Lakers were paced by Julis Randle, D’Angelo Russell, Nick Young, Larry Nance, theyJr.,Lou Williams and Brandon Ingram. The Lakers shot 47.4% from the floor. They made eight 3-point shots and led the Dubs in rebounds 51-40. The Dubs committed sixteen turnovers that cost them dearly. Golden State’s record is now 4-2 and the Lakers improve to 3-3.

The Dubs are off until Monday, and Coach Steve Kerr will be studying the game tapes to figure out ways to get the Dubs back on the right track. They played well in the last two games prior to Friday’s night’s debacle in LA.  The two games that they have lost have been by wide margins indicating the team is still a work in progress.

The Warriors return home to face the New Orleans Pelicans Monday Night at the Oracle Arena. Game time is at 7:30 pm.

 

 

The Warriors blow out the Thunder 122-96 at Oracle

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: The Oklahoma Thunder’s defense try to put the kibosh on the Golden State Warriors Kevin Durant (35) during the first half of Thursday night’s game at Oracle Arena

Oakland- The Warriors defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 122-96 Thursday night at the Oracle Arena. The game was hyped as a grudge match between the two teams. The Thunder organization and the fans in OKC were enraged when Kevin Durant opted to leave the Thunder and join the Dubs. Durant felt the Warriors would be the team to get him a championship ring. The Thunder came close to making the Finals last year as they led the Warriors 3 games to one, but they could not put the Warriors away. The Dubs rallied to eliminate them in seven. So, there was a lot of electricity in the air when the two teams faced each other in the first meeting of the year. The Thunder entered the game with a record of 4-0 and their star player, Russell Westbrook, averaged about 38 points a game in the first four outings. The Warriors, on the other hand, played poorly and lost by a wide margin to the San Antonio Spurs at home to open the season. The Dubs went on the road and won the next three games. They had a hard time with the New Orleans Pelicans and the Phoenix Suns. They found their mojo against the Portland Trail Blazers and looked like the team that won the NBA Championship in 2014-2015.

In the first period, the Thunder played well to start the game. The only lead the Dubs had in the early going was 3-2. Kevin Durant made the first of his seven 3-point shots to give Golden State the lead. The Thunder’s big man, Steve Adams from New Zealand, scored nine points in the early going to stake the Thunder to a 20-12 advantage. The Thunder increased the lead to 31-21, but the Dubs went on a 10-1 run to end the first period trailing by one 32-31. The Warriors were smoking hot to start the second stanza. They went on another 12-2 run behind Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Steph Curry. The Warriors defense shut the Thunder down completely in the period as Golden State outscored them 37-11 to take a 25-point lead at the end of the first half. The score was 68-43. Kevin Durant led the Dubs with twenty-nine points. Steph had thirteen and Klay six. Klay, who could not hit a 3-point shot in the prior games, nailed two in the half. The Dubs tried 16 3-pointers and made eight. OKC shot just 33.3% from the floor and was four for fifteen from 3-point range. Leading scorers for OKC in the half were Westbrook with twelve, Victor Oladipo added eight and Adams had nine. The Dubs outrebounded the Thunder 36-31.

The second half became a highlight reel for Durant. He continued to make three-point shots. He made a couple of spectacular dunks and blocked a couple of shots. Steph and Klay each made a pair of three-pointers, and the Dubs increased the lead to 28 at the end of 3 periods of play. Coach Steve Kerr kept his regulars in for just a short time in the fourth period, and it allowed Kerr to use his bench as did Thunder coach Billy Donovan. The Dubs blew out the Thunder by a final of 122-91.

Kevin Durant had a monster game. He scored thirty-nine points. He was 16 for 24 from the floor and made seven 3-point shots. After the game, he said in an interview that he “wanted to come out and play good basketball.” He did not want to talk about the chatter that went on between him and his former teammates during the game. He said that stuff stays within the lines. Durant tied an NBA record held by Michael Jordan Thursday night. He scored at least twenty points in his sixty-ninth consecutive game. Steph Curry scored twenty-one and had seven assists. Klay ended the night with eighteen points and he made four three-point shots.Draymond Green added nine to go along with five assists and ten rebounds. Zaza Pachulia pitched in with 8 points, five assists and pulled down ten boards.

Russell Westbrook scored twenty with ten assists and six rebounds. Victor Odalipo led the Thunder with twenty-one. The OKC bench led the Dubs bench 29-27, but they picked up most of those points in garbage time. The Dubs won their fourth in a row and are 4-1 for the season while the Thunder lost for the first time this year, and they are also 4-1.

The Dubs travel to Los Angeles to face the Lakers at the Staples Center Friday night. The Lakers are coached by former Warrior assistant coach Luke Walton. Should be an intriguing game as the pupil faces off against his mentor. Game time is at 7:30 pm PT.

 

The Warriors play well, blast the Trail Blazers

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry (left) drives past the Portland Trailblazers Al-Farouq Aminu (right) in in the first half in Portland Tuesday night

Portland, Oregon- Tuesday night in Portland, the Golden State Warriors played their best game of the young 2016-17 season by routing the Trail Blazers 127-104. They looked like the Warriors of the past two season. They moved the ball well; they played defense, and they got great play from the bench.  The Dubs bench outscored the Portland bench 54-39.

The Dubs got off to a slow start as they trailed by 7 points 18-11 at the midway point of the first period. Guard Ian Clark came off the bench and sparked the Warriors to a 34-25 lead at the end of one period of play. The Warriors were terrific on defense. The players were knocking passes away, rebounding, forcing turnovers and blocking shots. They looked like the Warriors of old. The Dubs continued to play well in the second period. The Blazers behind Damian Lillard and C.J.McCollum also played well and cut the deficit to six at the end of the first half. Warriors lead 59-53. The leading scorer for Golden State was Ian Clark with sixteen. Kevin Durant had eleven, Klay Thompson ten, Steph Curry just five and Draymond Green six. Leading scorers for Portland were Lillard with twenty-two, McCcollum eight and Evan Turner, off the bench, eleven. The Warriors continued to shoot three-point shots poorly. They were four for fifteen from behind the three-point stripe.

The third period belonged to Steph Curry. Curry made five 3-point shots and made two 3-point plays. He outscored the entire Portland team 21-20 in the third period. The Dubs went on a 20-4 run late in the stanza as the defense and Steph overwhelmed Terry Stotts’ team.

The bench played most of the fourth period. The only starter in the lineup was Klay Thompson. Klay had to miss most of the third period with four fouls. Coach Kerr wanted Klay to work on his 3-point shots, but Klay just couldn’t put one in from 3-point range. He is frustrated but he is too good a shooter and he will break out soon.

The defense was great. The bench contributed mightily to the win. Ian Clark, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, and David West all made significant contributions to the Dubs win. Steph led the team with 28 points. Durant had 20. Durant has scored at least 20 points in 68 consecutive games and is closing in on Michael Jordan’s record of sixty-nine straight. Lillard had 31 for Portland and McCollum added sixteen. Layman scored seventeen off the bench but most of those points came late in the fourth period well after the game was decided.

After the game, Coach Steve Kerr said this about Steph:”He looked like Riley Curry(Steph’s older daughter) in the first half and like Steph Curry in the second half.” He also sais that he”had never seen anyone like that turn it on that quickly.” Kerr remarked this about the defense “I thought the defense was the best so far” and that “Draymond was phenomenal and set the tone early in the game.” Green finished the night with six points,nine assists, and eight rebounds. The Dubs controlled the boards outrebounding Portland 45-32

The Warrior next game will be against the Oklahoma Thunder Thursday night at the Oracle Arena. Kevin Durant will be facing his ex-teammates for the first time since shocking the basketball world and signing as a free agent with the Warriors in the off-season. Russel Westbrook and company will be seeking revenge as the Dubs eliminated them in the playoffs last season. Game time will be at 7:30pm.