Tag: Golden State Warriors

Warriors Advance to 21-0 with Win Over Raptors

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By: Eric He

The Golden State Warriors hung on for a 112-109 win over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday evening for their 21st consecutive victory to start the season.

Stephen Curry poured in 44 points, while Klay Thompson added 26.

The Warriors trailed 85-84 early in the fourth as the bench let a slim lead slip. Thompson and Curry hit consecutive threes and Shaun Livingston connected on a layup to give the Warriors a 92-87 lead midway through the fourth.

But the Raptors responded with a burst of their own and Lowry’s sneaky layup inside regained the lead for Toronto again with under five minutes to play. Down 98-95, Curry dropped in a tough triple to tie the game at 98-98. He made another three to give the Warriors a 102-100 lead at the 2:30 mark.

The Warriors went without a field goal for the rest of the game, but didn’t need to because they connected on their foul shots after Draymond Green was fouled. Curry sealed it with five seconds to play on a pair of free throws to put the Warriors ahead 102-99, and the Raptors turned it over on the ensuing possession.

Up by 10 at halftime, the Warriors were outscored by the Raptors 30-24 in the third quarter. Kyle Lowry had 13 points in the quarter and his three cut the lead in half at the nine-minute mark. The Warriors stayed afloat and maintained the lead with Festus Ezeli chipping in. Curry’s floater off glass put the Warriors ahead 83-79 heading into the fourth quarter.

Lowry scored 41 points for the Raptors, a career-high.

The Warriors trailed 5-0 early, but that would be the extent of their struggles. Curry knocked in his first four shots — all three-pointers — as he and Thompson scored 11 straight points to give the Warriors a 21-10 lead. That marked a 16-0 run for the Warriors in the first quarter which ended with them up 32-21.

But they let the Raptors into the game in the second quarter as Toronto capitalized on second chance points, grabbing rebounds off misses. The Raptors went on an 11-2 run to start the second, capped off by a three from DeMar DeRozan to cut the Warriors lead to 36-32.

The Warriors’ bench unit struggled in the second and the Raptors took a 43-42 lead halfway into the quarter. But still, the starters reentered and took control. Thompson, who had 19 in the half, hit a three to give the Warriors a 56-47 advantage. Another three by Thompson to end the half send the Warriors into the locker room with a 10-point lead at 59-49.

Warriors Narrowly Keep Streak Alive, Fend Off Jazz In A 106-103 Thriller.

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By Shawn Whelchel

The Golden State Warriors have been so dominant this season that many may have pushed the idea of actually losing a game out of their mind. That scenario nearly came to fruition on Monday night as the Utah Jazz took the Warriors to the brink in a hard-fought contest in Salt Lake City, as Golden State managed to escape with a 106-103 win on the road.

The narrow victory was a star studded affair, as Golden State leaned on its studs, including Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, to deliver them the road victory to keep their unbeaten streak alive. Curry led the Warriors with 26 points, while scoring some crucial buckets in crunch time late in the fourth quarter. Green added 20 of his own, including a crucial put back bucket to take the lead in the fourth quarter while drawing the foul. Thompson also added 20 of his own.

The score was tied with just under two-minutes to go after a Curry step-back notched things up at 99. Curry couldn’t put through a fastbreak layup on the next Golden State possession, but Green’s hustle put him in a position to clean up the miss and give the Warriors a 101-99 lead.

Golden State would foul on their next possession, sending the Jazz’s Derrick Favors to line, who would sink both free throws as apart of his 23-total points on the night, again notching things up at 101 each. But with the game on the line, the Warriors looked to their MVP to lead them out of danger, and Curry delivered.

The NBA’s best shooter would show off his skills with the game on the line, crossing over a Utah defender and stepping behind the arc to nail a three pointer to put his team up again. The Jazz would look to threaten the Warriors lead yet again, but a loose ball off a miss found its way to Curry’s hands, who would be sent to the line to seal the victory following a pair of free throws.

The three-point victory was the slimmest margin thus far for the Warriors, who remain unbeaten with a 19-0 victory. The 8-8 Jazz aren’t the bottom feeders of the NBA by any means, nor are they the league’s elite. But with the Warriors continuing to chase even more records, it served as a stiff reminder that anything can happen in this unpredictable league. It also showed that the Warriors have not forgotten how to scrap their way to a win, as they continue to find ways to do so no matter the scenario.

The Warriors road trip continues on Wednesday, with the team flying to Charlotte to take on the Hornets in the second game of this seven game road series.

 

Kings crushed by Golden State 120-101

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
NBA: Sacramento Kings at Golden State Warriors
Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

By Charlie O. Mallonee

There are three tiers in the NBA. The first tier includes the Warriors, Cavs, Spurs, Heat and Clippers – teams that are battling for titles. The second tier teams are fighting for the bottom two playoff spots in their respective divisions. The third tier teams are spending their off-season trying to figure out who they are going to draft in the lottery.

The first tier team known as the Golden State Warriors played the third tier Sacramento Kings on Saturday night and the results were predictable. The Warriors crushed the Kings 120-101 and improved to 18-0 on the season. The loss dropped the Kings to 6-12 after 18 games.

To be fair, the Kings did have to play without the services of their All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins (strained lower back). That is 27 points and “a whole lotta” defense up the middle that was not available to Sacramento for this game. Cousins has missed both games with Golden State this season, and it is not a coincidence that the Kings have lost both games.

The Warriors did put on their usual spectacular offensive show, but they also played outstanding basketball on the defensive end as well. The Warriors held the Kings shooters to just 39-percent (39-for-101) for the game. The Kings had to take 100 shots to score 101 points. You cannot win in the NBA with that shooting to scoring ratio.

The Warriors scored 120 points and took only 80 shots from the floor. Golden State was deadly from behind the 3-point line hitting on 16-of-30 (53.3-percent) attempts. They also made 31 trips to the free throw line and converted 26 of those attempts (83.9-percent).

Kings

Rudy Gay had a better night but not a great game against the Warriors. Gay was the game’s leading scorer with 20 points. He had to take 20 shots (7-for-20) to post those 20 points. Gay is playing hard but seems have lost his smooth shooting touch for the moment.

Kosta Koufos gave a great effort as he tried to fill the shoes left open by the lack of DeMarcus Cousins in the game. Koufos knows what he can do on the floor and he does it well. He scored 14 points and had seven rebounds in 22 minutes of playing time. Koufos had sit out much the second quarter with foul trouble.

Rajon Rondo had a quiet night scoring seven points and dishing out seven assists. It is tough to create assists when your players cannot get open or make baskets.

Omri Casspi – who was starter in the game – finished with 11 points going 3-for-10 from the floor. All three of his successful attempts were 3-point baskets.

Marco Belinelli was unable to provide a scoring punch off the bench. He scored just five points and was 0-for-7 from behind the 3-point line.

Seth Curry provided some entertainment for the crowd during “garbage time”. Curry scored nine points shooting 3-for-3 from downtown.

Warriors

Stephen Curry was the Warriors leading scorer with 19 points in 29 minutes of playing time. Curry did not play in the fourth quarter. He shot 3-for-6 from long range and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line.

Brandon Rush put up 16 points getting the start in place of the injured Harrison Barnes.

Klay Thompson added 15 points shooting 6-for-10 including three 3s in 26 minutes on the floor.

Draymond Green (13), Festus Ezeli (11) and Marreese Speights (13) all scored in double-figures.

Golden State shot 48.8-percent from the floor going 39-for-80. They hit 16-of-30 3-point shots. The Warriors had 32 assists and just 14 turnovers in the contest.

What they said after the game

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a better shooting team or better passing team in my whole career coaching. You give them an opportunity or you give them a mistake – they find it with the pass. A lot of times they find it with the 3-ball,” said Kings head coach George Karl.

“I’m going to write this off as an injury loss. Their defense without Cuz (DeMarcus Cousins) limit our options or somewhat limited our options to be successful. And, we didn’t finish a lot of easy shots early in the first half. I thought our shots were pretty good in the first half. In the second half, making the 3-ball got out of control and you over-react to the 3-ball and give up the layup. When you over-react to the layup you give up the 3-ball. They are team that has that genius. I don’t if they even made a mid-range jump shot,” added Karl.

Up next

The Kings will host the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night. Sacramento is hoping to have Cousins back in the lineup to face the Mavs. Dallas defeated the Nuggets 92-81 on Saturday night at home.

The Warriors kick off a 7-game road trip in Utah on Monday night.

Warriors Remain Unbeaten with Rout of Kings

Published on by Eric HeLeave a comment

By: Eric He

The Golden State Warriors’ perfect start continued on Saturday night with an 120-101 win over the Sacramento Kings at Oracle Arena to advance to 18-0.

Stephen Curry led the way with 19 points. Brandon Rush, who started in place of the injured Harrison Barnes, had a feel-good night with 16 points. Draymond Green finished with 13 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds for his second straight triple-double.

The Warriors led by 10 at halftime, but broke it wide open in the third quarter thanks to a surprising burst by Rush. His dunk followed by a three gave the Warriors a 61-46 lead. That keyed an 11-2 run by the Warriors, capped off by back-to-back threes by Rush, who had 14 points in the quarter.

Golden State outscored Sacramento by 11 in the quarter to take a 92-71 lead into the fourth quarter, which consisted of a lengthy amount of garbage time.

Their performance in the latter half of the game was a far cry from their start, which saw them fall behind 14-6. But Curry scored 17 of his 19 points in the first quarter to keep the Warriors afloat. Curry’s three with under a minute to play in the first pulled the Warriors within one, and Festus Ezeli’s basket before the buzzer gave the Warriors a 30-29 advantage after one.

The lead soon expanded in the second. The Warriors began the quarter on an 11-0 run, with six points coming from Marreese Speights. The Kings responded with eight straight to get back within three, but in a quarter full of runs, the Warriors poured in an 8-0 run of their own to go up by 11 again.

The Warriors led 56-46 at halftime.

Warriors Dominate Suns, Advance to 17-0

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By: Eric He

The Golden State Warriors just can’t stop and won’t stop winning.

With a 135-116 victory over the Phoenix Suns on the road on Friday night, the Warriors extended their NBA-best win streak to start a season to 17 games, advancing to 17-0.

Stephen Curry, who didn’t even play the fourth quarter, poured in 41 points, hitting nine three-pointers. Draymond Green recorded a triple-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Leandro Barbosa added 21 points, the first time he’s gone over 20 points in a Warriors uniform.

The result of this game was never in doubt from the beginning. The Warriors jumped out to an 8-0 lead. Curry made five three-pointers in the first quarter alone, finishing with 19 points and six assists in just the one quarter.

Along with a season-high 44 first quarter points, Golden State made an NBA-record 15 three-pointers in the first half to take a 75-57 lead at halftime.

The Suns cut the Warriors’ lead to as little as 10 at 67-57 in the second, but the Warriors ended the half with an 8-0 run to take control. The Warriors broke the century mark with two minutes to spare in the third quarter, taking a 100-77 lead on a pair of Shaun Livingston free throws.

The Warriors finished off the fourth quarter and a convincing win on the road to continue their improbable start, with 135 points a team high on the season.

Next up will be the Kings at home on Saturday on the back-end of a back-to-back.

The Warriors trounce the Lakers, Make NBA History

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The magic continues. The Golden State Warriors made NBA history Tuesday night as the won the sixteenth game in a row to establish a new record for the best start by a team. The Warriors broke the record by a defending champion starting a season when they won their fifteenth game in a row Sunday night in Denver. Tuesday night, they broke the record shared by the  1948-49 Washington Capitals and the 1993-94 Houston Rockets. Those teams started the season 15-0. Never in the seventy-year history of the NBA has a team started the season 16-0. Not the Boston Celtics or the Los Angeles Lakers or the Chicago Bulls. All those teams were great, but none of them ever did what the Warriors accomplished this season. The Warriors routed the lowly Los Angeles Lakers 111-77 at the Oracle Arena. The once-mighty LA Lakers were no match for the vastly superior Dubs. The tables have turned. The Lakers owned the Warriors for years. The Lakers, second in the NBA, with multiple championships to their credit,  have literally gone from the penthouse to the outhouse. The Dubs, on the other hand, are the toast of the NBA. They are fun to watch. The Dubs play the basketball the right way. They have no egos. They share the ball. They run the court, find the open man. They rebound. They are, in the opinion of many, the class of the NBA. In addition, they want to be better than the were last year and all they did last year was win the NBA Championship.

The Lakers starting five was made up of Julius Randle, Roy Hibbert, Kobe Bryant, D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson. Their aging superstar, Bryant, is having a subpar season so far. Bryant came into the game averaging sixteen points a game. He had, however, one of the worst games of his career. He hit just one field goal in fourteen tries and scored just four points in the game to match a career low. Injuries to his ankle, knee and shoulder have affected his play. Looks like it may be his last season. It is his twentieth season in the league and he has reached the advanced basketball age of thirty-seven.

The game was actually close for the first 3 minutes and twelve seconds of the first period. The score was tied at five at that point. The Warriors never trailed. The increased the lead to 8-5 and then went on a 15-0 run. The first period ended with the Warriors up by nineteen. The score at the end of one period was 30-11. The Dubs defense thwarted the Lakers at every turn. Draymond Green scored twelve to lead the Dubs.

In the second period, the Lakers played better and actually outscored the Warriors 27-24 but trailed 54-38 at the end of the half. It was the fewest amount of points in any half this year for the Lakers. The Lakers’ Lou Williams scored ten points to lead the Lakers. The Warriors had nineteen assists on   the twenty-two field goals made. This stat indicated how well the Dubs moved the ball and how well they found the open man.

The Warriors blew the game open in the third period. They scored thirty-five and held the Lakers to seventeen. The Warriors had an 11-0 run as Steph and Company blew away the Lakers. Interim coach, Luke Walton decided to keep Steph, Klay, Bogut, Green and Harrison Barnes on the bench for the entire fourth quarter. Final score 111-77.

Game Notes- Steph Curry tallied twenty-four points for the night. He hit four three-point shots and had nine assists. Draymond added eighteen, Klay had eleven and Leandro Barbosa, coming off the bench, had thirteen.

After the game, Steph had this to say when, if ever, did he think the Dubs would lose. Steph couldn’t really answer tat question but he said this about the team ” we play at a high level every night.” He also said this about setting the record “there have been a lot of great players in the league and no one has accomplished what this team did tonight.” Not Bill Russell, not Wilt Chamberlain, not Jerry West, not Larry Bird, not Magic Johnson, not Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and not Michael Jordan.

The Warriors will try to make it 17-0 Friday night. They travel to Phoenix to play the Suns.

CongratulationsGolden State Warriors Point Guard Stephen Curry in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to the Dubs for a record-setting performance.

 

 

 

 

Warriors Closer to Record with Win Over Bulls

Published on by Eric HeLeave a comment

By: Eric He

The Golden State Warriors remained unbeaten with a 106-94 win over the Chicago Bulls at Oracle Arena on Friday night.

They advance to a perfect 14-0, tying the 1957-1958 Boston Celtics for the best start to a season by a defending champion, and are two more wins away from setting an NBA record for most wins to start a season.

Stephen Curry finished with 27 points. Harrison Barnes added 20 and Klay Thompson had 15.

Up 96-92 with a minute and a half to play, Barnes stroked back-to-back three-pointers, the latter of which gave the Warriors a 102-92 lead and sealed the victory.

The Warriors started the fourth quarter with both Curry and Thompson on the bench, and it allowed the Bulls to climb within two points. They evened the score at 92-92 on a three by Kirk Hinrinch with under six minutes to play, but Curry answered for the Warriors, knocking down a trey in response. Curry had missed a three, but Thompson hustled to grab the rebounds before shoveling it to Curry who stepped into the triple.

A tight first half continued in the second, as the teams remained deadlocked through the third. The Bulls took 70-67 lead on a three by Doug McDermott, but the Warriors responded with a 10-3 run as they held the Bulls to just one field goal in the final four minutes of the quarter. Curry made a jumper with 50 seconds left to give the Warriors a 77-73 lead heading into the fourth.

The Warriors started the game slow, much like Thursday night. The Bulls raced out to a 23-12 lead with an early 9-1 run. Unlike Thursday, the Warriors responded quickly, starting with a three-pointer by Thompson. An 8-2 spurt to finish the quarter capped off by an Andre Iguodala jumper meant the Warriors were only down one at 29-28 after one.

Included in that run was another spectacular play by Curry, who ripped the ball away from Joakim Noah and set up Iguodala for an alley-oop dunk that cut the lead to one.

A back-and-forth second quarter featured strong performances from both benches, save for a 7-0 spurt by the Bulls at the midpoint. A jumper by Mirotic gave the Bulls a 42-40 lead, but the Warriors took the advantage into halftime. Iguodala and Barnes both made threes and Curry connected on a layup to give Golden State a 50-47 lead at the half.

Golden State Warriors Thursday game recap: Streak kept in tact in seven point win over Clips 124-117

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By Jessica Kwong

AP Photo Stephen Curry celebrates in second half near the Clippers Paul Pierce

LOS ANGELES – A 23-point deficit against their west coast rivals proved to be no problem for the Golden State Warriors, who overcame the Los Angeles Clippers 124-117 on Thursday to plenty of cheers at Staples Center and preserved their undefeated record, now 13-0.

The Warriors, who came back from a 10-point deficit in their first matchup against the Clippers on Nov. 5 at home, got off to a poor start, with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green getting into early foul trouble. Los Angeles, meanwhile, hit eight of their first 10 shots and closed the first quarter with a 41-25 lead.

Though they trailed, the Warriors at no point felt the game was out of their hands, said Draymond Green, who scored 19 points and 9 assists.

“I just told the guys that we had 42 minutes left in the game – that’s a lot of time. We just continued to fight and even when (the Clippers) were hitting everything, it still never felt like they were just controlling the game,” Green said. “When it’s like that, you’ve got a shot at winning.”

Los Angeles led by as many as 23 points in the second quarter but the Warriors closed in as the game progressed. By the end of the third quarter, the Clippers’ lead was down to 91-85.

“That was pretty fun to watch our guys fight back like that after the first quarter the Clippers had. We kept telling them, ‘Just keep chipping away,’” said Warriors Interim Head Coach Luke Walton.

The real excitement – and kind of basketball expected of the nationally televised contest between the top California teams – played out in the fourth quarter.

It was a three-point contest. The Clippers’ Chris Paul hit a 25-foot jump shot to keep his team up 105-96, but immediately out of a Warriors timeout, with about six minutes remaining, Curry nailed a three. Paul responded with a corner three and less than a minute later, Curry hit another three. Then Paul Pierce and Andre Iguodala joined the three-point match, with 25-foot and 24-foot jumpers respectively. 

Golden State finally gained the lead, 113-112, when Klay Thompson hit a 24-foot jumper with about two-and-a-half minutes remaining. It was all downhill from there for Los Angeles – the team struggled to score and sent Curry and Thompson to the line. A sizable contingent of Warriors fans chanted “MVP” as Curry made all four of his free throws.

“We finally got stops and stopped turning the ball over, which starts with me,” said Curry, who scored a team-high 40 points but had 7 turnovers. “We know the recipe against the Clippers is that you can’t give them easy points. Whether they shoot well or not, that’s what fuels their offense – easy buckets in transition off of turnovers.”

Thursday’s game was the Warriors’ toughest on the road so far, Curry added.

“We just had confidence down the stretch and maturity that we relied on starting from last year and continuing into this year,” he said.

The defending champions return home for a back-to-back against the Chicago Bulls with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.

 

Warriors Beat Raptors, Advance to 12-0

Published on by Eric HeLeave a comment

By: Eric He

It was a pretty first half followed by an ugly second half, but the Golden State Warriors emerged out of Tuesday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors with a 115-110 victory to remain perfect at 12-0.

Much of the second half was played at a halfcourt, slow tempo, and the Raptors were able to keep the Warriors at bay and stay in the game.

With 38 seconds left, DeMar DeRozan made a layup to cut the Warriors lead to 109-108. After a defensive stop, the Raptors had a chance to take the lead but a questionable foul was called on Lowry.

After a pair of free throws by Stephen Curry, the Raptors, without a timeout, needed a three to tie but Kyle Lowrie went for a layup instead of a three-pointer, and was still denied at the rim.

That allowed the Warriors to come away with a tight win to become just the seventh team in NBA history to start the year 12-0.

Toronto didn’t score a field goal for nearly nine minutes in the fourth, but still managed to take the lead with free throw shooting, as the Warriors got themselves in foul trouble.

Lowry’s foul shots at 5:54 put the Raptors ahead 98-96, their first lead since the first quarter.

But the Warriors responded with a quick 7-0 run out of a timeout, starting with a lob from Draymond Green to Andrew Bogut to tie the game back up. Curry made a three, and Green’s floater put the Warriors ahead 103-98.

The Raptors’ first field goal since the 11:26 mark came from Lowry, whose three cut the lead to 105-103 with under three minutes to play.

Curry finished with a game-high 37 points to go along with nine assists. Klay Thompson had 19 points. For the Raptors, Lowry and DeRozan both recorded 28 points.

Up 16 at halftime, the Warriors allowed the Raptors back in the game on the strength of a 20-8 spurt. Toronto knocked down some open shots to cut the lead to six at 73-67 midway through the third.

Curry kept the Warriors ahead and Andre Iguodala’s late basket gave Golden State a 90-83 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

The Warriors went on a scintillating 28-10 run in the latter portion of the second quarter to build up a comfortable halftime advantage.

With the game tied 35-35, the Warriors took over. Thompson heated up with several jumpers, and his three with 3:25 to play gave the Warriors an eight-point advantage. The Warriors then ripped off 10 unanswered points, starting off with a steal and layup by Curry on the ensuing inbounds pass.

An alley-oop from Thompson to Andre Iguodala incited a Raptors’ timeout, but that did little to slow the Warriors’ momentum. In almost mirror, Festus Ezeli and Iguodala both grabbed tough rebounds that led to threes by Thompson and Curry, respectively to give the Warriors an 18-point lead.

The Warriors led 63-47 at halftime. Thompson had 18 points to lead the way.

Warriors Beat Timberwolves Behind Curry’s 46

Published on by Eric HeLeave a comment

By: Eric He

Behind 46 points from Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors poured it on in a 129-116 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night.

Curry went 8-of-13 from three-point range and made all eight of his free throws. He scored 21 points alone in the first quarter as the Warriors dropped 40 points to lead by 13 heading into the second.

An 8-2 run to start the second gave the Warriors a 48-30 advantage. Minnesota cut the lead down to as little as six, but a run by Golden State to end the quarter, finished off with a Curry layup at the buzzer, put them back up by double digits.

The Warriors fended off several pushes by the Timberwolves to climb back in the game, especially in the end of the third quarter when an 13-0 spurt threatened the Warriors’ large advantage. A putback by Kevin Martin with 9:47 to play trimmed the lead to 99-94.

But Curry and the Warriors regained command, as a barrage of threes and quick baskets built up the lead again as the Warriors wound up winning comfortably.

The Warriors advance to 10-0 while the Timberwolves drop to .500 at 4-4.