Tag: Harrison Barnes

Warriors slip by Thunder behind Curry’s 34 points

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — Stephen Curry scored 34 points and handed out nine assists, elevating the Golden State Warriors to a 114-109 home win over the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday night after clawing back from a 17-point deficit early in the game.

“We stepped up tonight,” Curry said after the game. “We had to battle tonight and once we got stops and transitions, we felt good.”

Golden State (22-3), bounced back tonight after snapping their franchise-record 16-game winning streak in Tuesday’s 105-98 loss at Memphis. The Warriors improved to 9-1 at home this season, and have won 17 of their last 18 games.

Oklahoma City came out and jumped ahead of Golden State, building a 40-32 first quarter lead. Kevin Durant scored 16 of his 30 points in the first quarter sinking 6 of his first 7 shots from the floor, including 5 for 6 from 3-point range. Oklahoma City made 15 of its first 25 shots.

The 40 points scored by the Thunder in the first quarter were the most points surrendered by Golden State in any quarter this season, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Durant appeared to be heading for big night, but sprained his right ankle late in the second quarter and didn’t return to the game.

The reigning league Most Valuable Player finished with 30 points in 20 minutes on 10 of 13 shooting, becoming the first player since the NBA/ABA merger in 1976 to score at least 30 points in 20 minutes, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“I wanted to go back out and play, but thought I should be cautious about it,” said Durant after the game.

Russell Westbrook picked up the scoring slack for the Thunder, finishing with a team-high 33 points and eight assists. Serge Ibaka had 12 points, while Andre Roberson finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Six players finished in double figures for Golden State, who converted 32 assists into 48 made field goals (48 of 64) and shot 51 percent from the floor. Golden State shot the lights out from from 3-point range, draining 12 of 31 from behind the arc.

Draymond Green finished with 16 points, nine rebounds, and a career-high nine assists.

Harrison Barnes and Shaun Livingston each scored 12 points, and Marreese Speights had 8 points. Barnes also grabbed seven rebounds.

The Warriors dominated the Thunder in the paint, outscoring Oklahoma City 52-36 and forced 15 Thunder turnovers, while only committing just nine. Golden State rattled off a 35-18 run in the second quarter to pull ahead of Oklahoma City, 49-48, which led to a 65-63 halftime lead for the Warriors who never looked back.

It took a total team effort for Golden State to snap Oklahoma City’s (12-14) seven-game winning streak, after continuing to play without center Andrew Bogut (right knee) and forward David Lee (left hamstring).

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr reaffirmed general manger Bob Myers’ recent comments that Lee could be back on the court Monday for the Warriors’ next home game Monday night against Sacramento

“David Lee will be back next week, probably,” Kerr said.

Bogut is a different story.

Bogut is expected to be out a number of weeks after undergoing platelet-rich plasma therapy on his right knee Wednesday.

 

 

Warriors ground Rockets, nab 14th straight win

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — Klay Thompson scored 21 points and Harrison Barnes and Stephen Curry each finished with 20 points as the Golden State Warriors finished the game on a 22-7 run and took down the visiting Houston Rockets 105-93 Wednesday night in front of 19,596 fans at Oracle Arena.

The win extended Golden State’s franchise record streak to 14 games, and improved the Warriors to an NBA-best 19-2 record.

“It took so long for us to break through tonight, that’s a helluva team,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who became the first coach in NBA history to win 19 of his first 21 games. “I thought we struggled a bit, but we were able to get the ball moving.”

Playing without center Andrew Bogut due to right knee tendinitis, Golden State relied on small ball going with Festus Ezeli at center to start the game, but ended the game with Draymond Green (11 points) at center, and Barnes at power forward.

The result: Golden State outscored Houston 32-17 in the fourth quarter, and shot 70 percent (14-of-20) from the floor, while playing lock-down defense. The Dubs held Houston in check in the fourth quarter, limiting the Rockets to just 31.6 percent (6-of-19) shooting.

James Harden scored 20 of his game-high 34 points in the first half, while Trevor Ariza and Donatas Motiejunas both finished with 18 points for the Rockets (16-5), who saw their four-game winning streak snapped.

Dwight Howard (right knee) missed his ninth straight game for Houston.

Both teams finished with 15 turnovers.

“We knew with Bogut out, we needed everyone to play well and we did,” said Barnes, who also had seven rebounds. “We had to grind out this game…we’ve been through a lot, but we got a lot of guys who can come in and contribute.”

Marreesse Speights finished with 15 points and eight rebounds and Shaun Livingston scored eight points off the bench.

Kerr knows its all about the team.

“It means that I’m the luckiest head coach in history…it’s fun to come into work everyday to get ready for the next game and work with these players.”

The Warriors will try to continue their winning streak Saturday in Dallas.

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.

 

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.

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.

 

Parker, Spurs handle Warriors

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND –Klay Thompson returned to the starting lineup after missing his first game with a sore hand scoring 29 points but it wasn’t enough as the San Antonio Spurs followed up a victory Monday night in Los Angeles over the Clippers, with a 113-100 victory over the Golden State Warriors in front of a sellout crowd of 19,596 at Oracle Arena on Tuesday night.

“The hand was sore, but credit to the training staff for working me hard the last few days to get me right,” said Thompson. “It felt good to be back out their, but it just didn’t click tonight…the turnovers are killing us, but we got to cut it down. We got too much talent not to get up shots.”

Harrison Barnes scored 11 of his 22 points in the first quarter to go along with eight rebounds, while Marreese Speights chipped in with 11 points to lead the Warriors off the bench.

Stephen Curry added 16 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the floor, including 0-of-7 from 3-point range, snapping a streak at 75 games in which Curry made at least one 3-pointer. Overall, Golden State shot 38-of-70 (54.3%) from the floor, but it were the 20 turnovers that continues to plague the Warriors.

“I thought we executed for the most part…but we need to take care of the ball better,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. “The Spurs played their best game of the year tonight.”

It was Golden State’s fourth straight game with at least 20 turnovers this season, and are averaging 22.5 turnovers per game, which leads the NBA.

Tony Parker finished with 28 points and seven assists, Kwahi Leonard scored 19 points and six rebounds for San Antonio, who dominated Golden State in the paint, outscoring the Warriors 48-28. The Spurs only committed eight turnovers the entire game.

Tim Duncan scored 12 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Manu Ginobili added 17 points off the bench for San Antonio (4-3), who continue their four game California swing when they return to Los Angeles Friday to take on the hapless 1-6 Lakers, before finishing up in the capital city against the surprising 5-3 Sacramento Kings on Saturday.

After winning their first five games to open the season, Golden State (5-2), has dropped their last two games, but will look to get back on the winning note as they will continue their three-game home stand Thursday with the Brooklyn Nets coming to Oracle.

Game Notes

* One week after Klay Thompson won the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week after averaging a league-leading 29.7 points per game for games played on Tuesday Oct. 28 through Sunday Nov. 2, the other member of the “Splash Brothers” won the same award the next week as Stephen Curry was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played on Wednesday Nov. 3 through Sunday Nov. 9. Curry averaged an NBA-tying 30 points per game, to go along with 4.7 3-pointers made,  seven assists per game, and six rebounds per game.

*The Golden State Warriors have waived guard Nemanja Nedovic, the team announced today.

As a rookie in 2013-14, Nedovic appeared in 24 games and posted averages of 1.1 points, 0.5 assists and 0.6 rebounds in 5.9 minutes per contest. The 23-year old guard spent 15 games with the Warriors’ D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz, tallying 14.9 points, 4.2 assists and 2.5 rebounds in 28.5 minutes. He did not appear in a game for Golden State this season.

Splash Brothers lead Warriors to 111-107 victory over Bucks

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By Gabe Schapiro

They didn’t make it look easy, but the Golden State Warriors (44-26) scratched out a win against the Milwaukee Bucks (13-56), 111-107, Thursday night, at Oracle Arena. Coming into the contest, the Bucks had the worst record in the NBA. However, you wouldn’t have known it from watching the game. The Warriors played far from their best, but you have to give credit where credit is due, and Milwaukee played hard. Despite a big disadvantage in free throw attempts, and an uncharacteristically poor shooting night from beyond the arc, Golden State found a way to hold on.

The game was close throughout. Every time the Warriors made a small run and made people think they were about to run away with it, as they probably should have against an inferior opponent, the Bucks swung back and played tough. Heading into the locker room Golden State grasped a slight 53-51 lead.

After briefly trailing towards the end of the third quarter, the Warriors would lead the rest of the way, but never managed to convincingly put Milwaukee away until the final buzzer rang.

For Golden State, it was their talented backcourt that led the way. Stephen Curry had a game-high 31 points and 11 assists. He was one of the few Warriors to have some success from three-point range, hitting three-of-five. Klay Thompson wasn’t nearly as efficient, but added another 29 points.

Andrew Bogut had a strong game going up against his former club. He finished with eight points and 12 rebounds. David Lee contributed his nearly customary double-double, posting 22 points and 12 boards.

On the negative side, Harrison Barnes struggled mightily starting in place of the still out Andre Iguodala. He failed to score a point on seven field goal attempts, to go along with two turnovers. The bench also had a pretty quiet night, outside of a solid 12 points from Jordan Crawford in just 12 minutes of play.

For the Bucks it was a true team effort that made the Warriors sweat it out. A whopping seven players finished in double figures, four of whom did it from the bench. Brandon Knight was the standout, producing a team-high 27 points and six assists.

Golden State will rarely be able to turn in this kind of performance and still eek out a win, but thankfully they timed it against a bad team at home. They’ll need to clean up their mistakes for their next matchup against the best in the West, the San Antonio Spurs. The game is this Saturday, March 22, at 7:30 PM, at Oracle Arena.

Shorthanded Warriors make it look easy, beat Orlando 103-89

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By Gabe Schapiro

No Andrew Bogut or Andre Iguodala? No problem. The Golden State Warriors (43-26) didn’t skip a beat despite two of their starters being out with injuries, easily beating the Orlando Magic (19-49) 103-89, Tuesday night, at Oracle Arena. Orlando has struggled mightily this season, but when Bogut and Iguodala were ruled out, the defensive backbones of the team, there is no doubt that it had some nervous for this one. Those concerns were fairly quickly put to rest, however, as all three of Golden State’s other starters picked up the slack. After the first quarter, this contest was rarely ever in any doubt.

The game started as a bit of a dogfight, in a tightly played opening frame that saw 13 lead changes. After 12 minutes the Warriors exited from the fray with a slim three-point advantage. There wouldn’t be another lead change the rest of the way.

Golden State slowly started pulling away from the Magic, and really slammed the door shut in a big third quarter, which saw them outscore Orlando 30-19.  The end of the bench saw some action late, as they eased to the victory.

It was nearly all good signs from the Dubs on this night. It was 14 minutes into the contest before they committed their first turnover. It was the third quarter before they missed their first free throw.

The three normal Warriors starters who did play in this one all had very strong games. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and David Lee finished with 23, 20, and 20 points respectively. Lee finished with a double-double, adding 10 rebounds to his line. Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes got the starting nod in the place of their injured stars, and while both struggled offensively, they chipped in in other ways. Green hauled in nine boards, dished out three assists, and had two steals. Barnes had five rebounds and three assists.

Golden State’s bench, which saw a little extra play tonight, had a strong game as well, particularly Mareese Speights and Steve Blake. Speights hasn’t played much recently, but clearly came in ready to go. He contributed 13 points, eight rebounds, and a block in 23 minutes. Blake also put up double-digit points, finishing with 12 to go along with four assists.

In the loss five Orlando players finished in double figures. Nikola Vucevic led the way with a team-high 15 points. Tobias Harris performed admirably off the bench, adding 14 points and a team-high six rebounds. Their backcourt really struggled, combining for just eight points.

The Warriors have now won two straight, and will look to make it three this Thursday, when they will be taking on the Milwaukee Bucks. The game starts at 7:30 PM, at Oracle Arena.

No Lee, No Problem as Streaking Warriors Grind Down Pistons for Win

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By Matthew Harrington

It would be hard to believe on a night when David Lee wasn’t even in the building, Andrew Bogut nursed a nagging shoulder injury and Stephen Curry‘s silky-smooth shooting touch went rough that the Warriors would walk away with a W. Monday night proved that anything is possible with the red-hot Dubs, winners now of four in a row since the All-Star break. The Detroit Pistons (23-34) became victim number four, falling at the hands of the Warriors 104-96 at the Palace of Auburn Hills despite Curry nailing just 6 of 15 field goals attempted.

With Andrew Bogut returning to play after injuring his shoulder seven games ago and David Lee missing his second-straight contest with the flu, the load was placed firmly on the shoulders of the Warriors’ lone All-Star Curry. The Human Torch remained relatively damp, hitting only 3 of 9 three-pointers for 19 points but fed his teammates plenty while collecting nine assists. Guard Klay Thompson also had 19 points for the Warriors (35-22), including two that came on a dunk over Kyle Singler that sent the Pistons guard staggering into the stands.

Jermaine O’Neal, starting for Lee who didn’t join the Warriors on the trip, put together another solid performance, netting a second-straight double-double on 16 points and 10 rebounds. O’Neal previously sparked the Warriors 93-86 win over Brooklyn with 23 points and 13 rebounds Saturday night at Oracle Arena. Jordan Crawford had his best night in the blue and gold since coming over in a January trade, picking up 15 points in the Warriors first game of a six-game road trip.

The Piston big men took advantage of the absence of Lee and a limited Bogut (due to injury and foul trouble) with all three members of the starting frontcourt cracking double-digits in scoring. Forward Greg Monroe had a game-high 23 points and Josh Smith converted the double-double on 18 points and 11 boards. Starting center Andre Drummond picked up 11 points while Singler bounced back from the debilitating dunk to pick up a respectable 18 points.

The Pistons controlled play early, taking a 10-point lead with just over 5 minutes left in the 1st and the Warriors trailing 22-12. The Dubs closed out the quarter on a 21-15 lead to get within striking distance at 37-33. Golden State took its first lead since the 2:14 mark of the game after Harrison Barnes nailed a trey with 1:11 gone in the quarter. Just 35 seconds later, Crawford hit one from downtown to pad the Warriors edge to 41-37.

The two teams traded the lead twice over the rest of the half with the Warriors wresting it away from the Pistons for good on an Andre Iguodala layup with three minutes remaining to make it 55-54 for the visitors. The Warriors would head to the intermission clinging to a slim 63-62 advantage.

The two teams fought tooth and nail yet again in the second half, exchanging leads five times in the third to give the Pistons am 83-81 lead after 36 minutes of regulation. Down the stretch the Warriors limited Detroit to just 13 points while scoring 23 of their own to take home the victory, Golden State’s sixth consecutive victory over the Pistons.

Up next for the Warriors, three games back of the Los Angeles Clippers for first in the Pacific Division standings, is a trip to the United Airlines Center in Chicago for a Wednesday night showdown with the Chicago Bulls. The six game road trip also includes stops in New York, Toronto, Indiana and Boston.

Warriors can’t overcome LeBron’s greatness, lose nail biter 111-110

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By Gabe Schapiro

The Golden State Warriors (31-22) lost a heartbreaker to the Miami Heat (37-14), 111-110, Wednesday night, at Oracle Arena. The Warriors looked horrible early before storming back and making a game of it. It eventually became the LeBron James and Stephen Curry show, in an epic duel of greatness. After beating Miami on their home turf last time these squads faced off, tonight the Heat exacted some revenge. James hit a last second three-pointer to stun the Golden State faithful, icing the victory for Miami.

For much of the early going the Warriors offense looked hopeless. They came out of the gate cold, and for a time it looked like they might lose a blowout. However, they rose to the occasion, and pushed back against the defending champions.

Golden State trailed by as many as 21-points, a few minutes into the third quarter. Thanks in large part to Curry and some impressive paly from Harrison Barnes on the bench, the Warriors began mounting a comeback. They went on a 20-2 run, and crawled all the way back to take the lead on a Curry three seconds into the fourth.

The momentum swung back in the Heat’s favor, who re-took the lead and held it for much of the quarter. With 47 seconds left, Curry nailed a 15-foot jumper to tie it up. Then he struck again, making an impressive lay-up in traffic with just 14 seconds remaining, which turned into a three-point play, giving the Warriors the 110-108 lead.

In their final possession Miami predictably went to James, who had been on fire all game. Andre Iguodala stuck with him, but the King couldn’t be stopped. He nailed a deep, fade-away trey with just 0.2 seconds left, lifting the Heat to victory.

Curry was the obvious standout for the Dubs. He scored a team-high 29 points on just 14 shots, to go along with seven assists and five rebounds. David Lee contributed a double-double, posting 21 points and 11 boards. Barnes was big off the bench, compiling 14 points and five rebounds. Draymond Green started in the place of Andrew Bogut once again, and filled up the stat sheet. He added eight points, eight boards, two steals, and three blocks.

For the Heat, the unstoppable James finished one assist shy of a triple-double. He finished with a game-high 36 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists. Chris Bosh had 19 points and five boards. Michael Beasley and Norris Cole had good games off the bench, contributing 16 and 10 points respectively.

Despite the loss, the Warriors did well to come-back from such a large deficit against one of the league’s best teams. It wasn’t the positive note they were hoping for heading into the All Star break, but there were positives to be found. They’re back in action on Wednesday, February 19, when they’ll be traveling to Sacramento to take on the Kings.