Category: Golden State Warriors

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.

The Warriors struggle but they still win, defeat the Phoenix Suns

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Eric Bledsoe (2) of the Phoenix Suns gets the throw down on the Golden State Warriors Andre Iguodala (9) in the first half of Sunday night’s game in Phoenix

Phoenix- The Golden State Warriors defeated the Phoenix Suns 106-100 Sunday night in Phoenix. The Dubs started strong and owned  15-8 lead midway through the first period. After a time-out, the Suns came roaring back and went on a 16-0 run to take a 24-15 lead. The Dubs tried to get even, but they just were not in sync. They trailed by eight points at the end of the first period. Steph Curry scored the Dubs’ first ten points.The rest of the team scored just seven points in the last six minutes of the period. In the second period, the Warriors were not able to close the gap until late in the period. The Dubs trailed 57-55 at halftime. Kevin Durant scored nineteen in the first half to get Golden State back in the game. Steph added eighteen. The Phoenix attack was led by Eric Bledsoe, T.J.Warren and Tyson Chandler. The Dubs turned the ball over thirteen times in the first half, and the Suns were able to capitalize on the Dubs’ sloppy play.

Golden State did not run away with the game in the second half. It was nip and tuck all the way until the final seconds of the contest. The Warriors committed just two turnovers in the final twenty-four minutes of action, and their defense was superb. Draymond Green was terrific, and the Warrior defense allowed just forty-three points as Golden State won its second game of the year.

Kevin Durant led the Warriors with thirty-seven points. Steph Curry added twenty-eight. Klay Thompson was cold for most of the game, but he did put in fourteen. Draymond Green was also cold from the floor, but he made up for it with nine assists and thirteen rebounds. Zaza Pachulia also had five points, and he tallied four assists and pulled down ten boards.

The Warriors had a hard time getting in rhythm all night long. They weren’t able to fast break a lot, and the biggest lead was just seven points. They were able to shut down the Suns late in the game, but the outcome was in doubt until Steph sunk two free throws with just 12.9 seconds left to play.

The stats in the game were this. Golden State shot 42.2% from the field. Phoenix shot 41.1% The Dubs were 8 for 29 from three-point range (27.6%). Phoenix was 8 for 23. The Suns grabbed 50 rebounds compared to the Warriors’43. The Dubs led 27-19 in assists. Golden State committed fifteen turnovers.

The Warriors record for the year is now 2-1 while the Suns, under first-year coach Earl Watson, drop to 0-3. The Warriors next game will be in Portland Tuesday night, and they return to the Oracle Arena Thursday night to face Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

 

 

Kevin Durant leads the Warriors to their first win of the year, beat the Pelicans

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Golden State Warriors Kevin Durant goes for the high percentage points as the Dubs chalk up their first win of 2016-17 against the New Orleans Pelicans Friday night

New Orleans-The Golden State Warriors, led by the stellar play of Kevin Durant, subdued the New Orleans Pelicans 122-114 Friday night in New Orleans. The Dubs, although they led most of the way, could not break away from the Pelicans. The Dubs, however, had an answer for every challenge thrown at them by the Pelicans. Golden State took an early 7-6 lead and kept it until late in the third period when the Pelicans led by a single point 74-73. The Warriors went on a 19-7 run to finish third period leading 92-81. The Pelicans refused to quit. Golden State led by sixteen 103-87 but Anthony Davis and company continued to peck away and closed the gap to six with just 19.4 seconds left in the game.

The Warriors did not play well in the opening game against San Antonio. They were looking to get the offense going behind the Big Three of Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Steph Curry. They also wanted improvement on defense, especially rebounding. They did improve in both those categories but still need to be better.

Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson led the Dubs to a 59-50 halftime advantage. Durant scored eighteen and had ten rebounds. Klay Thompson found his shot and knocked down fourteen. Steph Curry, saddled with three personal fouls, added six. Steph picked up the pace in the third period. He drained a couple of three-point shots and had a bucket and a free throw to complete a three-point play the hard way. Kevon Looney entered the game slightly after the mid-point mark of the period and was very effective as the Dubs closed out the period on a 19-7 run. Kevin Durant continued to amaze everyone as he blocked an Anthony Davis shot and the ran the court to make a spectacular dunk. The Dubs worked hard for the win. The biggest lead of the night was sixteen points, and they had to work hard on the defensive end to stop the Pelicans from overtaking them. Golden State wins a tough contest 122-114.

Game Notes. Kevin Durant had a double, double in the game. He scored thirty points and had seventeen rebounds.  Durant has now scored at least twenty points in sixty-six consecutive games. It is the longest streak since Michael Jordan’s sixty-nine in the 1990-91 season. Klay Thompson added twenty-eight, and Steph Curry finished with twenty-three. Za Za Pachulia had a double, double, too. Pachulia scored ten and had eleven rebounds. Draymond Green finished with eight points, and he recorded eleven rebounds, too. The Pelican bench outscored the Warrior bench 39-23.  The good news for Warrior fans was the play of Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingstone. They made several key buckets and the second unit played much better than they did against San Antonio. The one sour note was the injury to Patrick McCaw late in the first half. McCaw sprained his left ankle and was helped off the court. The Dubs do not know the extent of the injury at this time.

Anthony Davis led the New Orleans attack with forty-five points and seventeen rebounds. He had ninety-five points in his first two games of the year. New Orleans lost both. Tim Frazier had a career-high twenty-one points to go along with ten assists and six rebounds.Lance Stephenson and Duane Cunningham each scored fifteen, coming off the bench.

After the game, Klay Thompson said: “it felt great to get the first win of the season.” , “I was just trying to be myself” when asked if he was too aggressive in the first half. He  said this about Kevin Durant: “he’s gonna be huge for us all year.”

Dubs’  head coach Steve Kerr was pleased the Dubs had just fourteen turnovers in the game. “We did a good job of taking care of the ball.He added that we had “lapses defensively and (that we have)some things to work on.” “We played hard, but we had some breakdowns when everyone just looked at each other.” It was “more lack of communication that led to the breakdown.” “We are going to get much better. You can see how much work we have ahead. We gotta be smart, tough, and grow.”

The Dubs travel to Phoenix to play the Suns Sunday. Game time is at 3:00 pm

 

Golden State Warriors Tuesday game wrap: Big Tumble–The San Antonio Spurs trounce the Dubs on Opening Night.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry can only roll on the floor in the first half after being overwhelmed by too much San Antonio Spurs in Tuesday night’s game at Oracle Arena for the home opener

My oh my. The San Antonio Spurs spoiled opening night by trouncing the Golden State Warriors 129-100. The Spurs, led by Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Johnathan Simmons outplayed the Warriors in every facet of the game and sent the sellout crowd home wondering if the Warriors are in trouble. Golden State did not look at all like the team that won 73 games last year. They are still a very good team, but it may take a little time for all the pieces to mesh together.

The Dubs took the lead 16-14 with 5:54 left in the first period. That was the only lead they would have the entire night. The Spurs outran, outshot, outrebounded and beat the Dubs on defense all night long. The Spurs, Kawhi Leonard who was second in last year’s MVP voting, scored a career-high thirty-five points. Big LaMarcus Aldridge knocked down twenty-six and had fourteen rebounds. The Spurs bench outscored the Dubs’ bench by an astounding 45-13. Every time the Dubs made a run to narrow the gap, the Spurs answered the challenge. Leading 18-16 late in the first period, they went on a 13-4 run to lead 31-20 at the end of the first period. The Spurs scored thirty-three in the second period as they took an eighteen-point lead at the half 64-46. Steph Curry and Kevin Durant led the Dubs’ attack with eighteen and fourteen respectively, but Klay Thompson had just two points and was one for seven from the floor. The Warriors made just four three-point shots in nineteen attempts. San Antonio made six treys in just ten attempts. Leonard, Aldridge and Jonathan Simmons, off the bench, were the key players for San Antonio.

The home crowd was hoping for a patented Warrior come-from-behind surge in the third period. However, The Spurs continued to beat the Dubs on offense and continued to disrupt the Warrior attack. The Spurs led by twenty at the end of the third and won by twenty-nine 129-100. Leonard finished the game with 35, Aldridge with 26 and bench players Simmons had 20, Mills with eleven and the veteran, Manu Ginobili pitched in with 10. Kevin Durant led the Dubs with 27 points and ten rebounds. Curry scored 26, and Draymond Green knocked down 18 to go with six assists and twelve rebounds. Klay Thompson finished the night with 11. The Spurs dominated the board on both ends of the court. They outrebounded the Dubs 62-41. They had the edge in offensive rebounds 20-8 and 34-27 on defense. The Dubs turned the ball over sixteen times to add to their woes.

The Warriors are a work in progress. The Warriors lost six key players. The new players have shown that they can play in the NBA. However, it takes time for the players to mesh together and find the rhythm that the Dubs had the last two years. They have 81 games left, and the Spurs are an excellent team and will be in contention for the best record in the Western Division. The Dubs play the next three games on the road. They face the New Orleans Pelicans Friday night. They then travel to Phoenix on Sunday. They are in Portland next Tuesday to face Damian Lillard and the Blazer. They return home November 4th to face the Oklahoma Thunder, Kevin Durant’s old team. Talk about a grudge match. That game should be a barnburner.

Golden State Warriors Friday game wrap: The Warriors big guns play well, beat the Portland Trailblazers

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Draymond Green knows whose top notch as he celebrates after a score on the Portland Trailblazers in pre season action on Friday night at Oracle Arena in Oakland

Oakland- The Portland Trail Blazer played very well in the early going of the final preseason game before the start of the regular season. The Blazers, behind the play of Damian Lillard and C.J.McCollum led 24-9 about halfway through the first period. The Warriors, however, started to play defense and Steph Curry got hot and the Warriors were able to come from behind the defeat the Blazers 107-96.

Curry scored fourteen in the first period and twenty-eight in the half. The Warriors led by just a single point 57-56 at the end of the first twenty-four minutes of play. The Dubs, behind Kevin Durant, outscored Portland 33-16 in the third period.  Durant was on fire. He scored fourteen points in the period and tallied twenty-eight for the game. He also had seven rebounds. The Blazers made a run in the fourth period, but it was their bench against the Warriors bench.  They scored twenty-four and held the Dubs to seventeen. Ian Clark, coming off the bench, scored seventeen points in just seventeen minutes of play.

Steph Curry scored thirty-five and Klay Thompson was held to nine. Draymond Green had eleven rebounds. The Dubs outrebounded the Blazers 51-45.

The Dubs offense was terrific once they got untracked and the defense was superb. After the game, Kevin Durant said’ Steph had it going early on.” He also remarked the he “can’t wait for the start of the season.”  Coach Steve Kerr noted that the Blazers are “one of the hardest teams to guard.  (they are) explosive and space you out and we weren’t quite ready” at the start of the game. He also said this about Draymond Green”(he was) all over the place defensively.” Kerr praised Ian Clark this way ” really like him, and he will play a big role for us this year.”

The Dubs went 6-1 in the preseason. However, those games do not count. The season opens Tuesday night at the Oracle Arena. The Warriors will face the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs, coached by Greg Popovich, are always tough. Tim Duncan has retired, but they still have Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldredge, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. They may be a little older, but they know how to win. Game time will be at 7:30 pm.

Golden State Warriors Wednesday game wrap: Curry in season form in pre season match with Lakers scores 30 pts

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by Jessica Kwong

goldenstatewarriors.com photo: The Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Kevin Durant are a force against the Los Angeles Lakers during Wednesday night’s pre season game in San Diego

The Golden State Warriors showed they are ready for the regular season right around the corner with a 123-112 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in San Diego on Wednesday night.

Golden State took charge in the first quarter, with three pointers by Draymond Green and Stephen Curry.
Then Kevin Durant got a dunk, Curry hit two free throws and Zaza Pachulia made a jumper to put 12-0 on the scoreboard. The quarter ended with the Warriors up 33-20 over the Lakers.
At halftime, the Warriors led 52-43. Curry, Durant and Green displayed much of the athleticism and shots that made them stars last season.
The young, Kobe-less Lakers, led by Warriors former assistant coach Luke Walton, tried to come back but were overpowered by the solid-looking Warriors.
Curry has his most impressive performance yet this preseason, with 30 points, making 11 of his 19 shots.
Other top scorers for the Warriors were Durant with 27 points, Thompson with 19 points and Green and Kevon Looney with 10 points each.
The Warriors finished with 34 assists and 14 turnovers.
Golden State, 5-1, play their last preseason game versus the Portland Trail Blazers back at Oracle Arena on Wednesday Oct 20. Tip off is at 7:30 p.m.
The regular season begins on Tuesday Oct 25th, with the Warriors facing off the San Antonio Spurs at Oracle Arena in Oakland catch Jerry Feitelberg for the post game wrap up right here at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

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