Category: Golden State Warriors

Curry’s 19 points drives Dubs to 11th straight win

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — Western Conference Player of the Month for November Stephen Curry continued his steady play into December, scoring 19 points and handing out a season-high 11 assists leading the Golden State Warriors to their 11th consecutive victory with a 112-85 win over the New Orleans Pelicans Thursday night in front of 19,596 fans at Oracle Arena.

“We are off to a great start,” Curry said. “We have a laser focus and we never get too head of ourselves.”

Golden State’s 11-game win streak matches their longest in franchise history, dating back to the 1971-72 season. Their NBA-best 16-2 mark this season is also their best start in the team history, while improving to 7-1 at home.

After starting 1-of-8 shooting, Klay Thompson finished with 23 points on 8-of-16 from the floor.

Harrison Barnes added 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Draymond Green had 14 points and matched his career-high with 14 rebounds.

Marreese Speights continues to provide scoring off the bench for the Warriors, finishing with 12 points. In his last five games, Speights is averaging 14.6 points per game, 6.6 rebounds per game, and shooting 42 percent from the field.

Golden State destroyed New Orleans in points in the paint (62-48), rebounds (56-47), and held the Pelicans to just 41.6 percent shooting from the floor (3-0f-15 from 3-point range).

After trailing 30-22 early in the second quarter, Golden State went on a 20-4 run to close out the first half. Golden State led as much as 22 points over a New Orleans team that couldn’t get it going tonight after coming off a 112-104 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday night.

Anthony Davis scored 30 points and 15 rebounds, Jrue Holiday finished with 12 points and eight assists, and Tyreke Evans chipped in 11 points for New Orleans, who fall to 8-9 this season.

Omer Asik finished with nine points, and 15 rebounds for the Pelicans, who also committed 17 turnovers compared to nine by the Warriors.

Golden State looks to set a new franchise mark Saturday when the team heads to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bulls.

Extra dribbles:

  • Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said he hoped power forward David Lee (hamstring strain) would return to action next week while ruling Lee out for the Bulls game.
  • Warriors guard Justin Holiday got into the game for the final two minutes and had a dunk, marking the first time he played in a game with his brother, Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday, on the opposing team.
  • Sarunas Marciulionis bobbleheads did not arrive at Oracle Arena in time for them to be distributed because of labor issues at the Los Angeles and Long Beach waterfront, so fans were given vouchers instead for the giveaways to be shipped to their homes.

 

Oladipo, Shooting Woes Nearly Come to Haunt Warriors in Win Over Magic

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By: Ben Leonard

The Golden State Warriors came into Tuesday night cruising, winning their last nine games, including a win over the Thunder. They were also heavy favorites against the lowly Orlando Magic, who had just snapped their nineteen game losing streak against Western Conference teams on the road Sunday against the Phoenix Suns. Despite all this momentum swinging in the Warriors’ favor, the Magic almost handed Golden State just their third loss of the season. The Warriors struggled to make shots after a great second quarter, in which they made 79% of their shots. They needed a clutch, eventual game-winning three pointer from Stephen Curry to take a 98-97 victory over the Magic and move to 15-2. The Warriors are now just one win short of tying a franchise record of eleven straight victories.

It was not easy for Golden State in the early going, fueled mostly by hot shooting from Magic guard Victor Oladipo. He scored nine in the first quarter, leading Orlando to an early 15-8 lead with 6:16 to go in the first. After a timeout, the Warriors recuperated and gathered some momentum, cutting Orlando’s lead to 25-24. In a halftime interview on CSN Bay Area, Warriors’ assistant coach Alvin Gentry stressed the importance of doing “a better job on defense in keeping in front of [Oladipo].” Oladipo finished with twenty-seven points and four assists, but his individual performance was not enough to beat the Warriors.

The Warriors and small forward Draymound Green survived an early scare. Green sprained his thumb falling into photographer, and went to the locker room for treatment. He later returned to game, and made a good catch on half court pass and finished with a layup, drawing little reason for concern. Golden State pulled away in the second quarter, making an unsustainable seventy-nine percent of their shots to carry them to a 56-46 halftime lead. As as team, the Warriors had nineteen assists, and generally shared the ball well. They dominated the boards in the first half, grabbing twenty-seven rebounds to Orlando’s fourteen, including seven of the offensive variety. The Warriors failed to take advantage of poor three pointing shooting by the Magic (2-11 3-pt) in the first half, turning the ball over ten times. They allowed the Magic to score thirteen points off of these miscues.

The third quarter was similarly awful for the Warriors, who were outscored 29-17 in the period behind poor three point shooting. Golden State missed all of its five attempts from long-range, missing several open shots in the process. The Magic went on an 11-0 run from 9:19 until 6:20 left in the third, eventually turning a big 65-53 lead into a 71-69 deficit with 1:57 left in the third. Golden State went six for twenty-one from the field in the period, and likely felt relieved to finish the third down just 75-73.

Andre Iguodala set the tone early in the fourth, opening the half with a quick bucket to tie the game. Center Andrew Bogut blocked two shots on the ensuing possession, yet the Magic still hit a three to make it 77-75. The Warriors found themselves down 84-77 with around 7:40 left to play in the second half, and needed a catalyst. Despite a quiet night in the early going, Klay Thompson’s three pointer with 5:35 to go provided just that, cutting Orlando’s lead to 86-83 and getting the 19,596 in attendance at Oracle Arena back in the game. The three pointer started a furious rally for the Warriors, who went on an 11-2 run to tie the game at ninety-five apiece. Thompson ended up scoring twenty points on the night, despite a slow start, and gave the Warriors the boost that they had needed to get back in the game. Another star for Golden State was quiet in the first half: Stephen Curry. He made just two of five shots in the first half, scoring five points. He certainly made his presence known late in the game, hitting a game-winning three from the right wing with just 2.2 seconds to play. He shook off a poor shooting night, scoring eight points in the fourth quarter, including the decisive shot that gave the Warriors a 98-97 lead. In total, Curry scored twenty-two points to go along with five assists. After a timeout, the Magic had one last chance, but Draymound Green batted the inbounds pass away to end the game.

It was an uncharacteristically close game for the Warriors, who had not had a game decided by less than four points coming into Tuesday night. Last season, they had a whopping twenty-six of those games, a testament to the dominance that these Warriors have been accustomed to this season. Tuesday’s win marked their seventh this season against Eastern Conference foes in as many tries. Golden State will play the New Orleans Pelicans in their next game, this Thursday night at Oracle Arena.

Stats and info courtesy of ESPN

Featured Image: By Keith Allison (Flickr: Victor Oladipo) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Fab Five: Warriors Sweep Five-Game Road Trip With Win Over Detroit

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

Make it a perfect five for the Golden State Warriors, who completed an undefeated quintuple-city road trip Sunday with a 104-93 win against the Detroit Pistons. Saginaw, Michigan Native Draymond Green collected a team-leading 20 points for Golden State. The Michigan State alum hit 5 of 8 from beyond the three-point line. Marreese Speights followed up his Friday night breakout with a 12-rebound performance to hand the Warriors (14-2) their ninth-straight victory.

The Pistons (3-14), losers of eight straight, took a 24-21 lead in the first, but the Warriors dominated the second fourth of play with a 32-16 run to etch out a 53-40 halftime lead. The Pistons cut the lead by two following a 31-2 scoring edge in the third, but 22 points a side allowed the Dubs to cruise to the 104-93 win.

As a team, the Warriors shot 46.8 percent from the field. They limited the hosts to only 33 of 91 from the field for a 36.3 shooting percentage. Golden State turned the ball over 16 times, but went to the free throw line 27 times, hitting 21 from behind the charity stripe. The Motor City side struggled from behind the line, hitting just 16 of 24 free throws.

The Pistons back court combo of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (23) and Brandon Jennings (22) combined for almost half the Pistons’ points. Pitching in along with Green for the Warriors were Stephen Curry’s 16 points over a limited 28 minutes and Klay Thompson’s 15. Curry collected a double-double, dishing out 10 assists, but left the game early with a sore left ankle. X-rays taken Sunday were negative.

The Warriors return home for a brief two-game homestand, starting with Tuesday night’s tilt against the Orlando Magic then a Thursday showdown with Anthony Davis and the Pelicans. After that, the road beckons once more, with the Warriors starting a two-game roadie against the Chicago Bulls.

Speights’ Fourth Quarter Onslaught Takes Sting Out Of Hornets

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

The Golden State Warriors stayed scolding hot, coming from behind 106-101 on the road against the Charlotte Hornets for their eight-straight victory. Marreese Speights topped the Warriors (13-2) with 27 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, to salvage the Dubs chances on a night when the starting five under performed.

Speights hit 12 of 20 field goals, was a perfect three for three from the free throw line and added five rebounds in 23 minutes of work against the overmatched Hornets (4-13). The Warriors needed every ounce of effort considering Stephen Curry hit only 1 of 10 three pointers in his 26-point homecoming performance. Fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson also struggled, going 7 for 22 from the floor.

As a team, the Warriors hit 42 of 99 attempts, but went 15 for 16 from the charity stripe. Brian Roberts was the only Hornet to crack the teens in scoring, collecting only 20 points. Center Al Jefferson pitched in 18 points, while Cody Zeller added 15. Zeller completed the double-double on his 14 rebounds. Warriors starters Draymond Green (10) and Harrison Barnes (9) led the visitors in boards.

Golden State found themselves ahead 28-24 after one quarter, but were outscored 31-21 in the second to find themselves down 55-49 at the half. The differential didn’t change after 36 minutes of play were in the books with both teams producing 25-point third quarters. Speights’ huge fourth quarter capped a 32-21 Warriors fourth quarter run for the victory.

The Warriors take Saturday off for travel, heading to Detroit for a Sunday showdown with the Pistons. A win in Motown would make Golden State a perfect 5-0 on its current road trip. They’ll return home for a pair midweek before hitting the road again for a Saturday matchup with the Chicago Bulls.

Splash Brothers Make Waves In Win Over Miami

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

The Golden State Warriors continued their franchise-best start to a season, topping the host Miami Heat 114-117 to run their record to 11-2. Stephen Curry bounced back from a sub-par 15-point performance Sunday against the Thunder to score 40 points on 12 of 19 shooting to give the Warriors their sixth-straight win. The Warriors shot 57.3 from the field and turned the ball over just 11 times in the win.

Tuesday marked the seventh time in Curry’s career he cracked the 40-point plateau over his 37 minutes of play. The Warriors point guard hit an eye-popping 8 of 11 three-pointers. Fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson pitched in with 24 points. Andrew Bogut led all players with ten rebounds after exiting Sunday’s contest in the first quarter with an apparent injury.

For the Heat (8-7), the final remaining member of the Big Three led the way. Center Chris Bosh scored 26 points on 10 of 19 from the field. He also topped the home team in rebounds with nine.

The Warriors trailed by as much as 16 in the second quarter but closed out the half on a 22-6 run to pull within one at 62-61. The two teams swapped the lead five times over the first 9:30 of the third quarter, but Golden State outpaced the Heat 11-7 down the stretch to take the lead one final time at 91-86. They then played their stingiest defense of the night, allowing only 11 points in the final frame to 23 of their own for the 114-97 final.

The Warriors won’t get much respite on the road, a place where they have been very successful this season. They’ll take their 6-1 record away from Oracle Arena to Orlando Wednesday night in game two of a Sunshine State back-to-back.

Warriors Beat Thunder, Lose Bogut and Barbosa

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By Matthew Harrington

News came in many forms Sunday night for the Golden State Warriors. In the affirmative, the Dubs escaped Chesapeake Energy Arena with a 91-86 over the host Oklahoma City Thunder. Dampening the excitement of victory for Bay Area fans is the fact that both Andrew Bogut and Leandro Barbosa exited the contest early with injuries.

The Warriors (10-2)hit a season-low 35.6 percent of field goals, going 32 of 90 from the floor. The Warriors starters account for only 15 of the 32 makes, including poor shooting nights from Stephen Curry (5 of 15) and Klay Thompson (6 for 20). Thompson scored 20 points to Curry’s 15. Marreese Speights did the heavy lifting for the Warriors, scoring 28 points for the winners.

The Thunder (3-13), still without Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook, were led on the scorer’s sheet by Reggie Jackson’s 22 points. Jackson pulled down 11 rebounds for the double-double, while former Warrior Anthony Morrow had a game-high 12 boards.

The Warriors lead by as much as 10 points the first half, but found themselves only up 70-66 heading into the fourth quarter. Without Bogut and despite not hitting a three-pointer in the entire second half, the Warriors outscored the Thunder down the stretch 21-20 for the win.

The Warriors travel itinerary doesn’t get any lighter in the next few days. The Dubs play four straight on the road before month’s end, starting with a Tuesday-Wednesday Florida back-to-back. The Warriors head to Miami to face the heat before moving on to in-state opponent Orlando.

Warriors win fourth straight game, drop Jazz

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — You think after having four days off would make you sluggish.

Don’t tell that the Golden State Warriors.

Fueled by a 12-0 run to open up the game, Golden State found themselves up 28-13 after the first quarter, 54-32 at halftime, and 85-57 before Utah outscored the Warriors 31-16 but it wasn’t enough as Golden State picked up their fourth straight win Friday night 101-88 over the Jazz at Oracle Arena.

Andre Iguodala led six Warriors in double figures with 17 points, Harrison Barnes finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, Klay Thompson had 14 points, and Marreese Speights scored 14 points for the Warriors who shot 50 percent from the field (41-of-82).  The Warriors

Golden State, came into the game leading the NBA in shooting percentage (49.9), and holding opponents to an NBA-low 41.1 percent from the floor. Golden State held the Jazz to 42.7 percent (35-of-82) from the floor.

“We contested shots and made it difficult to pass the ball,” said Andrew Bogut. “We have good chemistry out on their on the floor.”

Bogut finished with 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting (his third straight game shooting at least 74 percent from the floor), and Draymond Green finished with 11 points and nine rebounds for Golden State (9-2), who are off to their best start since the 1972-73 season.

Stephen Curry, who is fourth in the NBA in scoring at 24.8 points per game, finished with just eight points, but dished out 10 assists and five rebounds.

The real story in the game was the Warriors commitment to not turning the ball over, which has been the team’s forte early in the season. Golden State dished out 19 assists to just two turnovers in the first half, before finishing with 28 assists and 13 turnovers for the game. The Warriors came into tonight’s game second in the NBA averaging 25.5 assists per game.

“I thought there was a little rust, offensively early,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.” “I told the guys if we took care of the ball and share the ball, we can win a lot of games.”

Enes Kanter had 18 points, Rudy Gobert and Gordon Hayward scored 12 apiece, and Derrick Favors finished with 10 points and nine rebounds for the Jazz (5-8), who have lost their fourth game in their last six.

Trey Burke finished with two points on 1-of-8 shooting from the floor.

Golden State now will hit the road for five games in nine days that starts Sunday against an Oklahoma City (3-11) team that is missing it’s two superstars, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

 

Warriors Bigs Center of Attention in Blowout Win over Lakers

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

The Golden State Warriors flexed their offensive muscle for a second consecutive night, routing the host Los Angeles Lakers 136-115 Sunday night after romping over the Charlotte Hornets Saturday night. Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut each earned double-doubles for the Warriors, while Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 44 points for the struggling Lakers (1-8).

Curry topped the Warriors (7-2) with 30 points and 15 assists, hitting 10 of 19 field goals and five threes, but it was the Golden State bigs that stole the spotlight. Marreese Speights collected 24 points, including 8 from the field while pulling down nine rebounds off the bench. Starting center Andrew Bogut cracked double digits in points in the first quarter, finishing the night with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Even Ognjen Kuzmic and Justin Holiday, called up from the Warriors D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz, saw playing time with coach Steve Kerr electing to rest his starters with the game out of hand early.

The Warriors hit 46 of 86 field goals, good for a 53.5 shooting percentage. While the turnover numbers were still somewhat high, the 16 committed Sunday are an improvement on the NBA-worst 20.1 the Dubs are averaging a game.

With Bogut on fire in the first quarter, the Warriors took a 34-23 lead. 21 of the 23 points came courtesy of Bryant, with the Mamba bent on passing Michael Jordan’s career points total this season. A 40-32 Warriors scoring margin in the second quarter put Golden State up 74-57. They put up 41 points in the third, while yielding only 24 to Los Angeles. With the reserves in, the Lakers outscored their visitors 36-21 in garbage time for the final score of 136-115.

After winning both ends of a back-to-back, the Warriors get a lengthy respite. They next take the Oracle Arena hardwood Friday night against the Utah Jazz to kick seven straight games against teams at or below the .500 winning percentage.

Thompson, Curry, Warriors thump Hornets

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — Klay Thompson was the lead man with 21 points, Stephen Curry chipped in 19 points and nine assists as the Golden State Warriors shot 52 percent from the field on 45-of-87 shooting to cruise to a 112-87 victory over the Charlotte Hornets Saturday night at Oracle Arena.

Harrison Barnes had 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, Andrew Bogut scored a season-high 13 points and nine rebounds for Golden State, who are off their best start since the 1994-95 season and remain atop of the Pacific Division at 7-2.

Marreesse Speights gave a boost off the bench for Golden State, scoring 13 points and six rebounds.

“That was a great effort tonight, I thought that was our best effort of the season. We really put it together both offensively and defensively,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.”We’re heading in the right direction with our offensive execution. The last six minutes were a little tough, committing five turnovers, but it was just a small mark on a otherwise great game.”

The Warriors have had trouble holding on to the ball early on in the season, leading the league with 21 turnovers per game.

In three of their past five games, Golden State committed 74 turnovers. In their last two victories over the Brooklyn Nets and now Charlotte, the team committed just 24 turnovers.

“We were able to control the ball. It shows when you control the ball, good things happen,” said Curry, who had just one turnover and shot 8-of-15 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from behind the arc.

Golden State  leads the NBA in shooting percentage, and destroyed Charlotte from beyond the arc with 11 3-pointers made, and holding a 48-30 edge in points in the paint.

The Warriors out-rebounded Charlotte 51-31, and held the edge in fast break points, 27-9.

Al Jefferson scored 19 points, Lance Stephenson had 16 points, and Brian Roberts finished with 17 points for Charlotte (4-6), who struggled from the floor shooting just 38 percent on 32-of-84 shot attempts.

Kemba Walker scored just eight points on 3-of-14 shooting.

The Hornets were playing their second game of a back-to-back, after winning in Phoenix Friday night, 103-95. With the loss, Charlotte fell to 1-5 on the road.

Saturday’s game was the first of a back-to-back for Golden State, who travel to Los Angeles Sunday to take on the 1-8 Lakers.

Game Notes

  • Golden State has sold out 87 consecutive games dating back to Dec. 18, 2002, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
  • Saturday’s game marked Klay Thompson’s 200th start in the NBA.

 

 

 

 

 

Warriors hold court, drop Nets

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — All five starters scored in double figures, led by Klay Thompson’s 25 points as the Golden State Warriors snapped a two-game losing skid with a 107-99 victory over the Brooklyn Nets Thursday night at Oracle Arena.

Draymond Green and Stephen Curry scored 17 points apiece. Green added seven rebounds and tied a career-high with seven rebounds.

“Everyone on our team contributed tonight,” said center Andrew Bogut. “Coach [Steve Kerr] told us he wanted us to be aggressive tonight and we were.”

Bogut scored 11 points and grabbed 14 of the Warriors 45 rebounds. Harrison Barnes finished with 12 points, but the story of the game was how controlled Golden State ball, committing just 11 turnovers tonight.

“Happy to get back into the win column,” said Curry. “We got a deep team and everyone is capable of having a big night. ”

For a team that is leading the league with 21 turnovers per game, it was definitely refreshing to see the Warriors to limiting the turnovers.

“That was great,” said the Warriors head coach. “Just three turnovers in the first half and 18 assists, that was huge…we’re just scratching the surface.”

Golden State shot a blistering 51 percent from the floor (25-of-49) in the first half, but cooled off a bit to finish the game shooting 46 percent (41-of-90). The 3-point line was kind for the Dubs, who connected on 11-of-34 shots (32 percent).

Former Warriors backup point guard Jarrett Jack scored 23 points on 10-of-10 shooting off the bench for Brooklyn.

Brook Lopez and Deron Williams each finished with 18 points for the Nets, who shot a putrid 39-of-88 (45 percent) from the floor and a nightmarish 3-of-16 from behind the 3-point arc.

Joe Johnson finished with 12 points for Brooklyn, who fall to 4-4 on the season.

At 6-2, the Golden State Warriors will look to finish up their three-game homestand Saturday night when the Charlotte Hornets  (that’s right, the Charlotte Hornets) come into Oracle Arena.