Tag: Golden State Warriors

The Warriors win their ninth in a row, crush the Lakers

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The Golden State  Warriors returned home from a successful four-game road trip to face the Los Angeles Lakers Wednesday night at Oracle Arena. The Lakers, who beat the Dubs by twenty points earlier in the season in LA, were no match for the Warriors as the Dubs sent them down to defeat by a score of 149-106. The Warriors had the highest point total of any team in the NBA so far this season. They also set a franchise record with 47 assists. The Warriors ball movement was superb as they scored just six unassisted buckets. The Dubs big three, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Steph Curry, all played well. The Warrior bench added fifty-three points. They Dubs defense did not allow the young Lakers to drive to the basket the way they did in the game in LA. Draymond Green was everywhere. The Dubs were rebounding, making steals and blocks and they made it difficult for the Lakers to get into a rhythm. Before the game coach Steve Kerr said “we got killed by the Lakers last time. Hope we’re better prepared.” One could say that was an understatement as the Dubs won by forty-three points.

The game was fairly close in the first quarter for about eight minutes. The Dubs led by six 25-19. They picked up the pace as they closed out the quarter with a fifteen-point lead. JaVale McGee made two fantastic dunks on passes from Draymond Green. Steph Curry’s four 3-point shots were helpful giving the Warriors the advantage 41-26 after twelve minutes of play. The Warriors scored thirty-nine points in the second quarter to blow the game open, and they ended the first half with an 80-49 advantage. Steph led the Dubs with twenty-four, Durant had nineteen and Klay Thompson pitched in with fourteen. Steph had six assists. Draymond Green scored four points but he had eight assists and seven boards.

The Lakers outscored the Dubs 29-26 in the third period. The Warriors play was a little ragged but they still led by twenty-eight at the end of three. Klay, Steph, and KD continued to torment the Lakers. Steve Kerr removed his regulars from the game for the entire fourth quarter. The Dubs’ bench, led by Ian Clark’s twenty-one point effort, scored forty-three points and held the Lakers to twenty-eight to put the game away.

Game Notes- The Warriors won their ninth in a row and improve to 13-2 for the season. The Lakers drop to 8-8. The two teams meet again Friday night in Los Angeles. Game time is 7:30 PM. The Warriors had more than 30 assists in a game for the ninth game in a row. They set a new franchise record with forty-seven Wednesday night. Steph led the Dubs in scoring with thirty-one. KD added 28 and Klay recorded 26. Steph made seven 3-point shots. The Dubs outrebounded LA 48-37. They also had 7 steals and 5 blocked shots. The Dubs turned the ball over just ten times in the game. Klay Thompson, when asked about how the team was coming together, remarked:”yeah, we’re getting the hang of things.”

After the game, Steve Kerr had this to say about the game:”I don’t think I’ve ever been part of a team that had 47 assists in a game.” “the ball is moving and the guys, apparently, are getting comfortable playing together.”He also said:”this was a great night” for the team and their fantastic offensive performance. “it was fun to watch.” Was it ever.

 

Draymond Green’s summer gets worse

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by Michael Martinez

Not too long ago, everything looked up for Draymond Green. The Warriors were so close to repeating as champions, but an ill tempered mistake by the All Star seemed to change the series as the Cavs went on to win three in a row.

And after the tough loss, Green found himself in headlines for all the wrong reasons. Green was arrested, but did reach a plea agreement to pay a small fine. Green got out of that situation fine, but now he’s back in the news for yet another mistake.

As Green traveled with team USA, who appear to be having a lot of fun, the Warriors forward put out a NSFW picture on his Snapchat story. At first, Green claimed he had been hacked. However, the 2016 Olympian confessed that he had accidentally shared the photo publicly, while it had been meant to be sent privately.

“It was a situation where it was meant to be a private message,” Green said. “I kinda hit the wrong button and it sucks. It was meant to be private. We’re all one click away from placing something in the wrong place, and I suffered from that this morning.”

Green’s teammates for this summer’s Olympics have given him a lot of grief for the incident. The Warriors sure hope Green can turn it around, but it seems this is more of an embarrassment for Green than anything. But as a professional athlete, he has to be extremely careful especially with social media.

For Green’s sanity, he’ll hope that everyone’s expectations are met as team USA should dominate in international play. Maybe a gold medal will make Green’s summer a little better. Then again, Green is just thankful for where he is.

“To say I can’t catch a break I think that’s disrespectful for everybody,” he said. “How many people get to live their dreams? I’m not going to sit here and throw myself a pity party and say I can’t catch a break. I’m fine. I get to joke around with these guys all day and get to do what I love for my country. I’m fine. I’m fine.”

Warriors lose a giant: Nate Thurmond gone at 74

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

 

Nate-Thurmond-1-1040x572by Charlie O. Mallonee

One of the NBA’s 50 greatest players and a member of the Hall of Fame – Nate Thurmond – has passed away at age 74 after a battle with leukemia. Thurmond played for San Francisco/Golden State, Chicago and Cleveland but is most identified as member of the Warriors for whom he played 11 seasons.

“Nate was one of the greatest centers to ever play the game and I was privileged to call him a teammate and dear friend. He battled his illness until the very end, like a true Warrior. His legacy is one of passion, fierce competitiveness, a love of basketball and selfless devotion to others. My heartfelt prayers go out to his family, friends and fans,” said Thurmond’s former teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Rick Barry.

Thurmond will always be remembered for his epic battles with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. “He (Thurmond) plays me better than anybody ever has,” Abdul-Jabbar told Basketball Digest. “He’s tall, has real long arms and most of all he’s agile and strong.”

Thurmond averaged 15 points and 15 rebounds per game for his career in the NBA. He was a seven-time All-Star, named to the All-Defensive Team five times and became one of five players in NBA history to post a quadruple-double in a game.

Thurmond closed out his NBA career in Cleveland just miles from his hometown of Akron. At 35-years old, he helped lead the Cavs to the Eastern Conference Finals where they ultimately lost to the Boston Celtics.

Thurmond has the rare honor of having his number retired by two teams. His number 42 was retired by the Golden State Warriors as you might expect. Thurmond was also honored by the Cleveland Cavaliers by having his number 42 hung from the rafters in Ohio.

“Damn man!!!R.I.P. Akron’s own Nate Thurmond. Knowing u played in the same rec league as me growing up gave me hope of making it out! Thanks!” LeBron James on Twitter Saturday.

After his basketball days were over, Thurmond returned to “the City” where he became a man about town always known for his friendly demeanor and impeccable wardrobe. The words “gentle” and “gentleman” were used about Thurmond frequently and truthfully.

Thurmond also went on to enjoy a very successful career as a restaurateur with his famous barbecue restaurant in San Francisco.

On a personal note, I had the privilege of seeing Nate Thurmond play for the Warriors in person in the early 70’s. The excitement and commitment he brought to the game is one of the reasons am still a NBA fan today.

Nate Thurmond will be missed by his family, teammates, opponents and many, many fans. Rest in peace Nate.

 

Warriors second half struggles lead to Game 6 loss

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

by Michael Martinez

picture credit Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

At the half, the score was tied at 61. Kyrie Irving and LeBron James each had a tremendous first half, but Klay Thompson kept the Warriors right in it.

Out of the half, James and Irving continued playing great on the offensive end of the court while the Warriors began to struggle. The Cavs shot over 60 percent from the field in the third quarter while the Warriors shot 29 percent.

And then in the fourth quarter, Cleveland only shot 42.1 percent but Golden State shot an abysmal 23.8 percent. After things had been close and both teams played tough, James and Irving kept playing like great players do in elimination games.

As Draymond Green was suspended from game 5, it seems as if James took advantage of facing anyone else but Green. Andrew Bogut also came out early in the third quarter with a knee injury, which effected the Warriors defensive presence.

In place of Green, Andre Iguodala had a solid game finishing with 15 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Thompson finished with a team high of 37 points as the forward was 11 for 20 from the field with six threes. Thompson was nine of nine from the charity stripe.

MVP Steph Curry scored 25, but the James and Irving were simply too much.

James and Irving became the first pair of teammates to score 40 or more points in a Finals game. With Kevin Love playing poorly, the duo was the reason Cleveland is sending the series to a game 6.

James and Irving scored 41 points apiece. James grabbed 16 rebounds and tallied seven assists shooting 16-30 from the field. James’ jumper looked smooth and the Warriors had no answer on the defensive end.

Irving also had six assists and incredibly knocked down  17 of 24 shots from the field.

As the final horn sounded, the Cavs defeated Golden State 112-97. Cleveland shot 53 percent from the field for the game and the Warriors just shot over 36 percent.

Tonight, the Warriors struggled to find their shot from beyond the arc, which is usually how they take the lead and maintain it.

Heading back to Cleveland, the Warriors should be excited to get after it in hopes of grabbing their second championship in as many years. Golden State will have Green back and more news is to come regarding Bogut.

The Warriors are going to need to find an answer to stop either James or Irving because if both play as well as they did it’s going to make difficult to finish off the series.

Tune in to ABC on Thursday at 6 p.m. PT and be prepared to watch a game full of offensive flurry. Golden State will look to try and finish off their historic season with the greatest prize the NBA has to offer.

Splash Brothers return: Warriors win 108-97

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
NBA: Finals-Golden State Warriors at Cleveland Cavaliers
Photo Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Fans, sports reporters and even other players were asking where had the Splash Brothers gone? Without the dominate play of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, it does not seem possible that the Golden State Warriors could find success on the basketball court. Yet despite the relatively quiet NBA Finals that Curry and Thompson have experienced, the Warriors went into game four on Friday night up 2-1 in the best of seven series.

On Friday night, something happened that made every fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers very unhappy. The Splash Brothers – Curry and Thompson – showed back up in Cleveland in a very big way. Curry and Thompson combined to score 63 of Golden State’s 108 points and they led the Warriors to a 108-97 win to take 3-1 lead in the series as it heads back to the Bay Area.

Stephen Curry – the NBA’s Most Valuable Player – led all scorers with 38 points. He connected on 7-of-13 3-point attempts and shot 11-for-25 overall. Curry converted 9-of-10 free throw opportunities. He also dished out six assists, grabbed five rebounds and had two steals.

Klay Thompson – the other half of the Splash Brothers – put up 25 points against Cleveland on Friday night. Thompson shot 4-for-9 from behind the 3-point line while going 7-for-14 from the floor. He was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line.

LeBron James scored 25 points but did not lead the Cavaliers in scoring. He shot 11-for-21 from the floor but went just 1-for-5 from long distance. James went to the free throw line just four times and converted just two of those opportunities. He hauled in 13 rebounds, distributed nine assists, had three blocked shots and two steals. James also became a little testy with Draymond Green late in the game that resulted in off-setting fouls. The Cavs could have used some of that fire earlier in the game.

Golden State

The Warriors shot 47.2-percent (17-for-36) from beyond the 3-point line. Those 17 3-point baskets set a new NBA Playoff single game record for conversions from downtown. Harrison Barnes hit four 3-pointers while Andre Iguodala added two of his own.

Golden State outrebounded the Cavaliers 43-40. Draymond Green led the Warriors with 12 rebounds.

The Warriors had six blocked shots in the game and Draymond Green had three of those.

Golden State posted 23 assists and turned the ball over just nine times to exceed the magic 2:1 ratio. The Warriors gave up just nine points off those nine turnovers.

The Warriors defense was in lock down mode especially in the second half on Friday night. They held the Cavs to just 24.0-percent (6-for-25) from 3-point range. Golden State forced Cleveland to turn the ball over 11 times and scored 18 points off those turnovers. The Cavaliers were held to just 20 points in the fourth quarter of the game.

Cleveland

Kyrie Irving led the Cavs scoring attack on Friday night with 34 points. He shot 14-for-28 from the floor and 2-for-6 from long distance. Irving had four rebounds and four assists in the game.

Kevin Love returned to the series after missing game three with concussion symptoms. Love did not start the game but he did play 25 minutes. He scored 11 points shooting 3-for-6 from the floor including one 3-point basket. Love also had five rebounds.

Tristan Thompson and JR Smith had 10 points each in the game.

The Cavaliers shot just 57.7-percent (15-for-26) from the free throw line. That statistic will haunt the Cavs over the weekend.

Up next

No team has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the NBA Finals. Teams are 0-32 when trying to make that happen. Now those are some bad odds.

The Cavaliers and Warriors will meet for game five on Monday night in Oakland at Oracle Arena. The Warriors will be trying to win the Larry O’Brien trophy in front of the hometown fans Monday night.

Warriors take Game 1 over Cavaliers behind bench

Published on by Eric HeLeave a comment

By: Eric He

AP photo: Cleveland Cavaliers Kyrie Irving (2) shoots the ball against the Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) in game one at Oracle Arena on Thursday night of the NBA Finals

Stephen Curry had just 11 points. Klay Thompson finished with a mere 9 points. And yet, the Warriors beat the Cavaliers easily in Game 1, 104-89, behind a fabulous performance by the bench on Thursday night at Oracle Arena to jump ahead in the best-of-seven NBA Finals.

The Warriors’ bench scored 45 points, paced by 20 points from Shaun Livingston, 12 from Andre Iguodala and 11 from Leandro Barbosa. Golden State’s bench outscored Cleveland’s 45-9.

After the two teams traded leads in the third quarter, the Warriors brought a six-point lead into the fourth quarter and the bench went off to extend the advantage. Livingston and Barbosa connected on an array of baskets, pushing the lead to 16. with 8:34 to play. It was a 21-4 run with Curry and Thompson on the bench.

Late three-pointers by Curry and Thompson shut down any Cavaliers’ hopes of a comeback.

The Warriors got off to a strong start, looking more comfortable and relaxed than in their series against the Thunder. They led by nine at halftime.

Curry and Thompson’s combined 20 points was their lowest total for the season. Yet, the Warriors’ bench picked up the slack, and the defense limited the Cavaliers to 38.1 percent shooting.

The Splash Brothers will have to get going at some point, but the fact that they underperformed and the Cavaliers were still blown out does not bode well for Cleveland moving forward.

Game 2 will be Sunday at 5 p.m. PST.

Historic season not over yet, Dubs back in the NBA Finals

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

by Michael Martinez

picture credit Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images

Down in the Western Conference Finals three games to one, the Golden State Warriors looked lost, worn out and defeated. While the Oklahoma City Thunder seemed unstoppable and their path to the NBA Finals appeared clear.

But did people forget that this Warriors team won a record setting 73 games? If anybody could come back down three games for just the tenth time in league history, it would be these guys. And the Warriors showed their resiliency and in game seven their fearless leader, Steph Curry showed that his second MVP selection, an unanimous decision, was no fluke.

The best player on the planet and his team defeated the Thunder, 96-88, in a tough game 7.

The first quarter was all Thunder as their defense was relentless and made Golden State take tough shots. The Warriors only scored 19 points, while Kevin Durant looked to be locked in. Oklahoma City showed up in the first and gave the impression that they had forgotten about the past two games.

However, the second quarter was different and the Warriors went back to what they do best, shooting the three ball. Klay Thompson got off to a rough 0 for 7 start, but knocked down four triples in the second to help his team cut the Thunder’s lead, who looked poised to take a big lead.

At the half, OKC led Golden State, 48-42 and out of the half, the MVP reigned supreme.

Curry made three big triples in the third and the Warriors played tremendous defense. The defending champs outscored the Thunder, 29-12, in the third quarter. The third quarter was the turning point and the home team never looked back.

While Curry had a solid third quarter, his clutch performance in the fourth proved why he is currently the best player in the NBA. Curry went 5-6 from the field, including 2 for 3 from beyond the arc for 15 fourth quarter points. Curry absolutely went off and made the big shots when the Thunder tried to make a come back of their own late in the game.

The Warriors lived by the three in tonight’s game, shooting 45.9 percent from behind the three point line. Their defense also did a great job of not allowing Durant the ball and holding their opponents to a shooting percentage of 38.2 percent.

Durant did finish with 27 points on 10 of 19 from the field for a team high and Russell Westbrook totaled 19 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds. But Westbrook had difficulty shooting as he went 7 of 21 on the night.

Curry finished with a game high 36 points, hitting 13 fields goals on 24 tries with seven of those field goals coming from three point range. The Warriors win was definitely a collective effort as the team had to come together strong to make this incredible series come back. Thompson ended the game with 21 points of his own as the Splash Brothers once again guided their team to one of the franchise’s most important victories.

The Warriors spent a ton of energy on winning this series and that could be a factor as their next task begins on Thursday. But, the Warriors are headed to back to back finals. They have a player who won back to back MVP trophies. And now, repeating as champions is in plain sight.

The Cavs and LeBron James look better than the team the Warriors saw last year, but again do not count out the Western Conference Champions. History is unfolding right in front of our eyes, can the Warriors be historical once again?

Tune in to ABC on June 2 at 6 p.m, where Golden State and Curry will take on James and company at Oracle Arena in front of a rambunctious Oakland crowd.

 

Thompson leads Warriors over Thunder to force Game 7

Published on by Eric HeLeave a comment

By: Eric He

AP photo: Golden State Warriors Klay Thompson is congratulated by fans at Chesapeake Energy Arena concluding game six win over the OKC Thunder on Saturday night

Klay Thompson set an NBA playoff record with 11 three-pointers, propelling the Warriors over the Thunder in a dramatic Game 6 win, 108-101, to force a Game 7.

It looked for the longest time on Saturday that the Thunder would pull away and close out a disappointing end to a historic season for the Warriors.

But Thompson would have none of that. The sharpshooter hit three after three in the fourth quarter to close an eight-point Thunder lead. Stephen Curry knocked down consecutive threes to tie the game at 99-99 with under three minutes to play, and Thompson put the Warriors ahead 104-101, catching an outlet pass from Andre Iguodala and hitting a three.

Curry followed with layup over Serge Ibaka to extend the lead to five with 15 seconds left, and the Warriors close it out with a couple of steals.

Thompson finished with 41 points, while Curry had 29.

The ending was surreal considering the Thunder had control all game long. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook had 29 and 28 points, respectively, and Oklahoma City had opened up a double-digit lead by the second quarter. The Thunder maintained that advantage throughout, and, save for a brief spurt in the third when the Warriors took a slim lead, they largely kept the Warriors at bay whenever Golden State closed on a run.

The Warriors finished 21-of-44 from 3-point range while the Thunder shot just 3-of-21.

This will be the Warriors’ first Game 7 at home in 40 years. The winner will advance to the NBA Finals to face the Cavaliers.

Warriors stay alive with Game 5 win

Published on by Eric HeLeave a comment

By: Eric He

AP photo: Golden State Warriors Klay Thompson left yellow shirt and Stephen Curry (30) exalt watching a warrior bucket in game five at Oracle Arena in Oakland

The Golden State Warriors staved off elimination with a 120-111 win over the Thunder in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals on Thursday night at Oracle Arena.

Stephen Curry led the way with 31 points, while Klay Thompson poured in 27. With the win, the Warriors send the series back to Oklahoma City needing a win to force a Game 7.

The Warriors led by four heading into the fourth quarter, but quickly opened up a double-digit advantage with the help of a 12-4 run. The Thunder hung around and closed the gap late, but the Warriors hung on to keep their playoff dreams alive.

The Warriors led for a majority of the game, not allowing the Thunder to take control as they have in the previous two contests. The Thunder took a brief 68-67 lead in the third quarter, but otherwise the Warriors turned up their play a notch to get the win.

Golden State shot 47.1 percent from the field, getting the all-around contributions they needed to beat the Thunder. Draymond Green played better, while Andrew Bogut had a big night with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Marreese Speights scored 14 points off the bench.

But the Warriors still have a monumental challenge in the front of them. They must find a way to beat the Thunder on the road to keep their season alive. Game 6 is Saturday night in Oklahoma City.

Thunder roll past Warriors in game 3

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

by Michael Martinez

After the Warriors 27 point blow out win in game 2, the momentum seemed to be in there in Golden State’s favor.

But the Oklahoma City Thunder made it seem like that game was in the very far past.

While the first quarter was close, OKC broke things open in the second quarter thanks  to Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. The big key for the Thunder in the game was that they were able to get to the free throw line and get easy points. In the second quarter alone, the Thunder went 17 of 18 from the charity stripe.

As everything went right for the Thunder, everything went abysmal for the Warriors who shot 22.6% from the field in the second quarter. Golden State also only made two three pointers in the quarter.

At the half, the Thunder led 72-45 and the third quarter was no different. Golden State showed a little more offensive life, but were still outscored by their opponent. The Thunder took their biggest lead in the game in the third quarter, going up by 41 points at one point in the game.

Golden State scored more than OKC in the fourth quarter, but it was a very lost cause. Oklahoma City blew out the defending world champs in dominate fashion. Durant and Westbrook both had huge games and the Thunder shot 50% from the field for the game.

Westbrook neared a triple double with 30 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds. Durant scored a game high 33 points and eight assists while going 10-15 from the field. The two All Stars played really well and collectively as a whole the Thunder played well.

Steph Curry had a team high for the Warriors with 24 points and Klay Thompson added 18. The Warriors just looked flat and were completely outplayed.

Draymond Green was not a factor in the game at all, which played a role in why the Warriors did poorly. Green also picked up a flagrant one foul after kicking Steven Adams in the groin, which he claims was inadvertent.

Whether it was or not, my guess is that Green will not pick up a suspension for the foul. In the end, the Thunder defeated Golden State, 133-105. OKC’s blowout victory was a point more than the Warriors game two win. After everybody thought the Warriors would have the momentum, Oklahoma City struck right back.

Can Durant and Westbrook continue their incredible play? With the Warriors down two games to one in the series, they will look to try to even the series on Tuesday at 6 p.m. on TNT.