Tag: Klay Thompson

The Warriors obliterate the Clippers 144-98, Steph Curry puts on a show

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The Golden State Warriors, behind Steph Curry’ 43 point night, blew out the LA Clippers by 46 points 144-98. The Clippers were without their star guard Chris Paul, but even if he were able to play, there was no way to stop the Warriors on Saturday night.

The Clippers led 5-4  in the early going. That was the last time they would ever lead in the game. In the first quarter, Steph scored 12 and made two 3-point shots. They were ahead by 10 48-38 when they started to pull away from the Clips. Draymond Green made a sensational play on defense as he blocked a shot, then ran the court and took a pass and slammed in down to light up the crowd. The Dubs led by 18 69-51 near the end of the first half. Steph Curry sent the crowd into delirium when he hit a shot from half-court as the buzzer sounded to make it  72-51 after 24 minutes of play. Curry and Kevin Durant led the team with 18 each. Klay had 12.

The Warriors, who had a hard time in the third quarter against the Magic, Heat, and Hornets, returned to form and pounded the Clippers 45-23 in the period. Steph was on fire and seemed to make every shot he attempted. When the quarter ended, Steph had recorded 43 points and had made 9 3-point shots in just 34 minutes of playing time. The Dubs outscored the bewildered Clipper 45-23 and led 117-74 with 12 minutes left in the game.

Coach Steve Kerr pulled all his regulars from the game, Ian Clark, Patrick McCaw, Kevin Looney, James Michael McAdoo, and Anderson Varejao finished the game for Golden State. The Dubs’ bench outscored the Clippers’ bench 27-24. Dubs win 144-98.

Game Notes and Stats. The Warriors, with the win, improve to 40-7. The Clippers, in second place in the Pacific Division, fall to 30-18 and are 10.5 games behind the Warriors. Steph Curry’s line was 43 points, 6 assists, and 9 rebounds. Kevin Durant had another good game with 23 points,7 assists,4 boards and one blocked shot.Klay Thompson had 16, Draymond Green 5 points,5 assists, 5 rebounds, and two blocked shots. James Michael McAdoo had 10 points and four boards, Andre Iguodala had 9 points, 5 assists, and six rebounds. JaVale McGee scored 9 to go with 3 boards and 2 blocked shots.

The Clippers were led by Blake Griffin with 20, JJ Redick,13, Austin Rivers and Raymond Felton 10 each. The Warrior’s defense was superb again as they held DeAndre Jordan to 8 and super sub Jamal Crawford managed just 5. The Warriors controlled the boards 48-32, and they had 9 steals and 7 blocked shots. On offense, the Dubs shot a blistering 62% from the floor. They were 17-for-34 good for 50% on three-point attempts. They committed just 11 turnovers and forced the Clippers to turn the ball over 14 times.They made 57 shots from the floor and had 35 assists in the game.

The Dubs do not have long to savor the win as they play another back-to-back game Sunday night in Portland. The game will be on NBA TV, and it will start at 6 pm.

The Warriors rally in the fourth quarter to defeat a very determined Charlotte Hornets team

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors met the Charlotte Hornets Wednesday night in Charlotte. The game with the Hornets was the last stop on a four-game road trip. The Warriors were looking to rebound after a very tough loss Monday in Miami. In fact, the Warriors had three tough games in a row. They struggled to beat Orlando. They struggled in the loss to Miami, and they struggled until halfway through the fourth quarter. They were down by five at the end of the third period. Every time they tried to close the gap in the fourth quarter, they were rebuffed by the Hornets.About halfway through the period, the Warriors found their game and led by Kevin Durant and Steph Curry, they pulled away to record the win 113-103.

The Hornets, coached by Steve Clifford, do not like to run. They, like the Memphis Grizzlies, utilize a deliberate style of play and use a lot of the clock. They also were dominant on the boards, especially getting offensive rebounds, and kept the Warriors from getting too far ahead. The Warriors got off to a good start. Steph Curry scored thirteen, and Kevin Durant had nine, and they were ahead by six 19-13. Charlotte played strong defense and closed the gap to one 29-28 after 12 minutes of play. In the second quarter, Klay Thompson was the man. The Dubs were getting him the ball, and Klay responded with seven. The Warriors, however, could not get separation from Charlotte and the half ended with Golden State ahead by 6 53-47.

In the third quarter, the Hornets outscored the Warriors 33-22 and led by five after three periods. Charlotte started the quarter on a 19-4 run. The Warriors looked like they were out of sync and didn’t get going until late in the quarter. They closed the gap to just two, but the Hornets’ Kemba Walker was fouled making a 3-point attempt with just 1.5 seconds left. Walker made the freebies, and the Hornets led 80-75 heading into the fourth and final period of play. Klay Thompson made 3 free throws to start the quarter, and the Dubs trailed by one.

The Warriors rallied to tie the score at 85. At this point, the refs called Klay for a foul on a three-point shot by former Warrior, Marco Belinelli. Klay, who never loses his cool on the court, and really was angry that he was called for the foul. The refs hit him with a technical and Belinelli mad all four free throws. The replay showed that Klay never touched Belinelli and it was a bad and costly call.

Belinelli was fouled again making a 3-pointer, and he made all three shots again. The Warriors decided it was time to shut the Hornets down. They went small as they installed Draymond Green at the center position. Kevin Durant came to life and scored 16 points in the fourth quarter. KD drove the lane and was fouled several times. He did not miss a free throw. The Hornets could not defend him.With the score 99-96 in favor of the Dubs, Steph hit a three-pointer to put the Dubs up 102-96. The Warriors defense throttled the Hornets, and they were able to pull away and won the game 113-103. It was a dogfight for all 48 minutes.

Game Notes and Stats. The Warriors are now 39-7 while Charlotte falls to 23-23. Kevin Durant led the Dubs with 33 points, 2 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Steph’s line was 28 points, 6 assists, 2 boards, and he mad six 3-point shots. Klay scored 19. Draymond pitched in with 13 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots. James Michael McAdoo had a nice game coming off the bench as he added 8 points and had 7 rebounds.

Charlottes’ leading scorer was Kemba Walker with 26. Marvin Williams had 14, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 15, Nicolas Batum 16, Marco Belinelli 14. Spencer Hawes had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. The Warriors committed 12 turnovers which led to 21 Hornet points. The Dubs scored 28 fast break points, and the Hornets managed to score just 4. Points-in-the-paint went to Charlotte 52-40. The Warriors extended the NBA record to 132 games without 2 losses in a row.

Steph Curry was honored at his high school in Charlotte when they retired Steph’s number. Davidson College also honored Steph by naming “Section 30” at Belk Arena for Steph. The NBA fined Zaza Pachulia $15,000 for hitting a player at the game in Miami Monday night.

The Warriors return home to face the Los Angeles Clipper on Saturday. Game time is at 5:30 pm. The Warriors then play a back-to-back game Sunday in Portland against the Trailblazers. Game time for that contest is at 5 pm.

The Miami Heat, behind Dion Waiters, torch the Warriors 7-game winning streak

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Miami Heat’s Dion Waiters shoots a basket in the final seconds of the game to secure a victory over the Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson during an NBA basketball game in Miami, Monday, Jan. 23, 2017. (Charles Trainor Jr./Miami Herald via AP)

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Miami Heat, winners of three-straight before meeting the Warriors Monday night, looked like a playoff team. They entered the game with a record of 14-30 but did not play like a 14-30 team as they beat the Dubs 105-102.The game was nip and tuck all the way. The biggest lead the Heat had was nine points in the first quarter and the largest lead the Dubs had all night was six.

Miami started strong while the Warriors were ice cold. The Dubs were 3-for-12 from the field to start the game. Miami owned the lead 26-17 until Steve Kerr inserted JaVale McGee into the game. McGee gave the Warriors the spark they needed, and they took the lead 30-28 at the end of the quarter. Klay Thompson and McGee made the first two buckets of the second quarter and the Dubs led by six. The lead didn’t last long as the Heat tied the game at 36. They tied the score four more times in the quarter before the Warriors scored the final bucket of the half when Steph Curry made a layup as the buzzer sounded.  The Dubs hold a 2-point advantage at halftime 48-46. Steph led the team with 11, and Kevin Durant added 10. Gorin Dragic led the Heat with 11, Waiters and James Johnson had nine apiece.

So far this season, the Warriors have owned the third quarter. However, tonight was not their night. The quarter belonged to Miami. They outscored the Dubs 31-25. Dion Waiters was hot, and he was clicking from downtown. The game did seesaw back and forth, but the Heat took the lead 63-62 and increased it to 77-73 at the end of the period.  The Dubs regained the lead briefly 82-81, but Miami didn’t wilt. They increased the lead to 93-84. The Warriors couldn’t close the gap, and Miami led by ten 98-88 with 3:47 remaining in the game. The Dubs rallied behind Steph, Klay, and KD. Steph made a deuce and Klay, and KD made a three-point shot as the Dubs tied the score at 102 with 11 seconds left in the game. The Heat’s Dion Waiters, who tied his career high with 33 points, sank a three-point shot with just 0.6 seconds left in the game.

Game Notes and Stats- The Warriors were without the services of Andre Iguodala Monday night as Steve Kerr gave him the night off. The Warriors shot 46.6% from the floor, but they had a tough night making three-point shots. They attempted 30 and made just 8. Four of the eight were made in the fourth quarter. Steph and Klay were three-for-nine, and the Dubs shooting percentage for threes was a woeful 26.7%.

KD led the Dubs with 27. Steph had 21, and Klay added 22. The Heat was led by Waiters 33. Dragic had 19, Luke Babbitt 11, James Johnson and Wayne Ellington pitched in with 9 apiece. The Heat’s big man, Hassan Whiteside had a double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds.

The Dubs fall to 38-7 while Miami improves to 15-30. The Warriors finish the road trip in Charlotte Wednesday evening. Game time is at 5 pm.

 

The Warriors start slowly but right the ship in the third quarter to beat the Orlando Magic

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors played a very sloppy first half in the game against the Orlando Magic in Orlando on Sunday. The game had a start time of 12-noon, and many of the players were on 9 am west coast time. The Warriors and the Magic were tied at 50 at the end the first 24 minutes of play. During the halftime, Dub’s head coach must have used some of his “magic”(pun intended) to get the Dubs back on track for the second. Whatever it was, the men in blue and yellow dominated the third quarter, and the Warriors coasted to their 8th straight win by a score of 118-98.

The Warriors ended the first quarter with a 6 point lead 28-22. Orlando, trailing 10-6, went on a 10-0 run to grab the lead 16-10. JaVale McGee entered the game Golden State, and in just five minutes of play, McGee scored 8 points and had an assist to help the Dubs end the quarter on a 13-2 run. McGee scored on a tip-in, a spike, a   layup and on a give-and-go. He recorded an assist when he dished off to Ian Clark who nailed a 3-pointer to give the Dubs the lead 28-22.

The second quarter was a nightmare for the Warriors. They went over five minutes without scoring a point. The Magic scored the first 16 points in the period to lead 38-28. Zaza Pachulia broke the spell with a bucket. The Warriors started to play defense and cut down on turnovers as they were able to come back and take a 50-47 lead near the end of the period. The Magic came back and tied it at 50 to end the half. Steph Curry was the only Warrior in double figures as he knocked down 11. The Magic’s scoring leaders were C.J.Watson and Serge Ibaka with nine each. The Warriors committed 12 turnovers in the half and were not in sync.

Now, we come to the third quarter. The Dubs have been superb all season long in this quarter and on Sunday, they shined. They outscored the Magic 42-24 and led by 18 at the close of the third period. Steph Curry made four 3-point shots, and Klay Thompson added two of his own. With the score 55-50 in Orlando’s favor. The Warriors went on a 19-2 run to lead 69-57. The Warriors kept the pressure on and ended the quarter with an 18-point advantage 92-74

The Warriors defense did not allow the Magic back in the game. Klay Thompson had two more 3-pointers. Andre Iguodala and Patrick McCaw also made a three. Kerr inserted his bench with six minutes left, and they coasted to the win.

Game Notes and Stats- The Warriors won their 8th game in a row and now own a record of 38-6. The Magic, coached by Frank Vogel, fell to 18-28. The game was a sellout in Orlando. The Magic have not been drawing well this year. There were so many Warrior fans in attendance; the team must have felt they were at home. Shaun Livingston did not play as the Warriors gave him the day off. Damian Jones, the number one draft choice of the Dubs this year, saw about six minutes of action in the fourth quarter but did not score.

Now for the stats-Steph Curry led the team with 27 points, six assists, and four boards. Klay Thompson scored 21. Both Steph and Klay hit seven 3-p0int shots. Kevin Durant had another double-double. He pitched in with 15 points, six assists, ten rebounds, and two blocked shots. The big men, Zaza Pachulia and JaVale McGee, scored 14 and 13 respectively. Draymond Green played his usual superb game. His line was 6 points, four assists, and ten rebounds. Patrick McCaw, coming off the bench, added 10. Ian Clark had 7, and Andre Iguodala had a nice game with 5 points, five assists, six rebounds, and one blocked shot. The Magic leading scorers were Elfrid Payton with 23, Bismarck Byombo with 12, C.J.Watson 12, Serge Ibaka 10, Jeff Green 12, and Nikola Vucevic 12.

More stats- the Warriors shot 47.2% from the floor and held the Magic to 43.8%. The Dubs were 19-for-42 from behind the arc. Steph and Klay made seven each. The Dubs outrebounded the Magic 52-41. They had 27 assists on 42 field goals. They had eight steals and four blocks. The one negative was turnovers. They made 12 in the first half but got their act together and committed just 6 in the last 24 minutes of play. They had 37 fast break points and scored 46 in the paint.

After the game, Steve Kerr talked about the team’s defense. “If we can focus on defense, we can run.” “with the firepower we have that means we can get one or more (of our big guns) going .” Kerr also remarked about the crowd cheering for Steph Curry. Kerr said ” everybody loves Steph. There are a lot of supporters on the road.”

The Warriors move on to Miami to face the Heat Monday night. Game time is at 4:30 pm. The Warriors beat the Heat 107-95 on January 10th at Oracle Arena.

 

 

The Warriors do it again, win their sixth in a row over the Houston Rockets 125-108

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors are on a roll. They beat the Houston Rockets in Houston by a score of 125-108. The Warriors continue to play great defense as the held the Rockets All-Star James Harden to just 17 points. The Warriors led by five at the half 62-57. However, as they have done so often this season, they put it into gear and outscored the Rockets 37-22 to lead by twenty at the end of three periods of play.

They continue to shine on defense. They blocked seven shots and had eight steals. They continue to lead the NBA in both those categories. The big block of the night came in the fourth quarter when Kevin Durant blocked Eric Gordon’s 3-point shot. Gordon was 2-for-14  from the floor and ended the night with just six points.

With the win, the Warriors are now 37-6 for the season. The Rockets drop to 33-13 and are 2 games back of the San Antonio Spurs in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference. All five Warrior starter were in double figures. KD had a big night with 32 points,7 assists, 4 boards, and 2 blocked shots. Steph Curry made 5 three-point shots and ended the night with 24 points and he, too, had 7 assists. Klay Thompson knocked down 16. The Dubs’ defensive whiz, Draymond Green continued his excellent season with 15 points, 7 assists,8 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots.

Zaza Pachulia, who seems to be getting better as he gets used to the Warriors’ offense, recorded 10 points, 2 assists, and 9 rebounds. Andre Iguodala had 5 points, 2 assists, and 9 big rebounds helping the Dubs to the win. Patrick McCaw and James Michael McAdoo, who is filling in for the injured David West, each had 8 points. James Harden had a double-double with 17 points and 11 assists. Harden also committed 7 turnovers.Clint Capela scored 22, Sam Dekker 17, Patrick Beverly,13, and Trevor Aziza 12.

The Warriors have recorded 30 or more assists for the fourth game in a row and the 30th time this season. No other team in the NBA has had more than 8 games with 30 or more assists.

The Warriors have now beaten three of the five teams that have defeated them so far this year. They evened the series with a convincing win over the Cleveland Cavaliers last Monday. They beat the Lakers in November after an embarrassing early season loss in LA. They now defeated the Rockets to get a measure of revenge as the Rockets beat the Dubs in double-overtime at Oracle Arena in December. The Dubs now have to beat the Memphis Grizzlies, and San Antonio Spurs to get even. They play Memphis twice in February, once in Memphis and once at Oracle. They play the Sputs two more time, and both games will be in San Antonio.

The Warriors fly to the Sunshine State to play the Orlando Magic. Game time is at, gulp, 9 am Sunday morning. They play the Miami Heat on Monday.

Kevin Durant leads the Warriors to victory over his former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors faced the OKC Thunder Wednesday night at Oracle Arena. The Warriors, fresh off a smashing victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, had a tough time getting their game going as OKC took advantage of the Warriors eleven turnovers in the first half. The Thunder’s defense held the Dubs to just eight three-point shots. The game was tied at 56 at the half. The Warriors, behind Kevin Durant’s 40 points, broke the game open in the third quarter as they were able to beat the Thunder 121-100.

The Thunder’s Russell Westbrook, Victor Oladipo, and Enes Kanter led the Thunder’s offense. They played well on defense. The Thunder led 31-30 after the first quarter. The Thunder went on a 9-3 run to start the second quarter. The Warriors came back and took the lead 44-42. The Dubs’ David West scored six and KD made a trey to tie the game at 42. The Dubs were up by four 56-52 near the end of the quarter. Russell Westbrook scored the last 4 points, and the game was tied at 56 to end the first half. Kevin Durant knocked down 20, and Steph had 13 to lead Golden State in scoring.

The Warriors, as they have done so many times this year, owned the third quarter. Draymond Green scored six points to start the quarter. Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Klay Thompson all came alive in the period. The Warriors stopped making turnovers, and they played superb defense. They outscored OKC 37-22 to take a 15 point lead after three periods of play. They did not let up in the fourth quarter. They increased the lead to 19 with 7:41 left to play. With the score 117-94, coach Steve Kerr removed his starters from the game. JaVale McGee, Ian Clark, Kevon Looney, Patrick McCaw and Shaun Livingston finished the game, and the Warriors won the game by a final score of 121-100

Game Notes and Stats- The Warriors improved their record to 36-6 and OKC fell to 25-19. OKC’s big man, Steve Adams, was not able to play as he is recovering from a concussion. Klay Thompson was in Portland due to an illness in the family, but he flew back in time to be in the lineup.

Kevin Durant had another double-double. He recorded 40 points, 4 assists, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots. Steph Curry pitched in with 24 points, 8 assists, and 4 boards. Klay scored 14. Draymond Green also had a double-double. Draymond pitched in with 12 points, 5 assists, ten rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Shaun Livingston(8), David West(8), and Andre Iguodala(6) all made contributions in helping the Dubs win. The scoring leader for OKC was Russell Westbrook. Westbrook had a quadruple-double. He scored 27 to go along with 13 assists, 15 rebounds, and 10 turnovers. Victor Oladipo had 20, and Enes Kanter picked up 22 coming off the bench.

The Warriors outrebounded the Thunder 46-36. The Dubs recorded another game with over 30 assists. They had 35 assists on 48 field goals. They were great on defense as they had 8 blocks and ten steals.They outscored the Thunder 56-48 in points in the paint, and they had 29 fast break points compared to 19 for the Thunder. The one negative was turnovers. The Warriors committed 18 turnovers, and that cost them 29 points. They made 11 turnovers in the first half but had better ball control in the second as they were able to pull away and record the win.

The Warriors start a four-game road trip Friday Night in Houston. Game time is at 5 pm. The Rockets beat the Warriors in double overtime earlier in the season at Oracle Arena. The Rockets are 33-12, and Jame Harden’s play has him in the running for the NBA’s MVP.The Warriors then go to Orlando, Miami, and Charlotte before returning home to face the LA Clippers on January 28th.

 

 

The Warriors blow out the Cavs, send them down to defeat

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, having lost their last four games against the Cleveland Cavaliers, were on a mission  Monday night at Oracle Arena. The Warriors still smarting from losing the NBA Finals to the Cavs last year and a one-point loss on Christmas Day in Cleveland sent a message to the Cavs by beating them by 35 points. The final score was 126-91. The Warriors Big Four played extremely well. The Warriors excelled on offense as they shot 50.5% from the floor. They made fifteen three-point shots. The Cavs had a miserable night as the best they could do was shoot just 35% from the floor. The Warriors had more rebounds 58-35, assists 37-11, steals 10-7 and blocked shots 11-4.The Warriors scored 37 fast break points and had 46 points in the paint.

The Warriors started fast. They had an early 9-2 lead. Cleveland trailed by four 18-14, but that was as close as they would get. The Warriors poured in on as they led 37-22 at the end of the quarter. They then scored 41 points in the second quarter and held the Cavs to 27. They led 78-49 at the end of the half. The 78 points were the most the Dubs scored in a half this season. The onslaught was led by Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson.

In the third quarter, the Warriors did not play well. The Cavaliers held the Dubs to just 17 while they scored 22. Cleveland held the Dubs without a field goal in the last 5 minutes of play in the period. The Cavs went on a 13-1 run to end the quarter. The Dubs were ice cold as they missed 12 shots in a row.The Warriors still led by 24 but the fans were getting nervous as they remembered the Cavalier comeback on Christmas day. The Warriors, behind Klay Thompson’s fantastic performance in the quarter, upped the lead to 38 with 4:41 left in the game. Coach Steve Kerr pulled his starters, and the bench finished the game.

Game Notes and Stats. Steph Curry had a double-double in the game. Steph scored 20 points and had 11 assists and 2 rebounds. Draymond Green notched his third triple-double of the season. Green was all over the court. He had 11 points,11 assists,13 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. Zaza Pachulia tied Draymond with 13 rebounds. The fans loved his play as they gave him a standing ovation when he left the game in the fourth quarter. Kevin Durant pitched in with 21 points, 5 assists, 6 boards, and 2 blocked shots. Andre Iguodala continued to play well. Iguodala had a slow start earlier in the season, but his production has gone up lately. Klay Thompson led the Dubs with 26. Klay had 18 in the second half and many of them came in the fourth quarter.  Andre knocked down 14, had 5 assists, 3 rebounds, and one blocked shot. Shaun Livingstone, David West, and JaVale McGee all were productive off the bench.

The Warriors held LeBron James to just 20 points. Kevin Love was not a factor as he scored just 3. Kyrie Irving had 17, Tristan Thompson,6,  and Imam Shumpert 15. Kyle Korver, who the Cavs obtained from Atlanta for his 3-point shooting, was held to 11. Richard Jefferson scored twenty, but most of his points came in garbage time.

The Warriors record improved to 35-6 while Cleveland dropped to 29-11. The Warriors face the Oklahoma City Thunder Wednesday night at Oracle Arena. Game time is at 7:30 pm. They then travel to Houston to face the Rockets Friday night.

The Warriors send the Pistons down to defeat 127-107

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, after a very close first half, outscored the Detroit Pistons 41-19 in the third quarter to defeat the Pistons 127-107. The Warriors and Pistons played a very highly contested first half that was featured by 21 lead changes. The Dubs finished the first half leading 60-58

The third quarter belonged to the Warriors. They scored 41 points to put the game out of reach. The Warriors Big Three, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Klay Thompson all scored more than 20 points in a game for the 13th time this season, and they have won all the games when that happens. With the win, the Dubs improve to 34-6 while Detroit drops to 18-23.

Game Notes and Stats- The Warriors shot 56.2% from the floor and made 15 3-point shots in 29 tries. They had good ball movement as they recorded 39 assists. It was the 27th game this season that they have scored 30 or more assists in a game. They continued to play defense, They had 14 steals and 4 blocks in the game. They outran the Pistons as they outscored the Detroiters 29-2 on fast break points. Kevin Durant scored 25, Steph Curry 24, and Klay Thompson 23. Detroit had 5 players in double points. Marcus Morris 21, Tobias Harris 18, Andre Drummond 12, Reggie Jackson,14 and the 7 foot 3 inch Boban Marjonavic had 13.

The Warriors are off until Monday. The face the Cleveland Cavaliers at Oracle Arena. Game time is at 5 pm.

The Warriors and Denver Nuggets play a very fast paced game in W’s win 127-119

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors and the Denver Nuggets played a very entertaining and fast-paced game Monday night at Oracle Arena. The Nuggets, behind the great play of their three big men Nikola Jokic, Jusuf Nurkic, and Danilo Gallinari, stayed close to the Dubs for most of the game. The Warriors ha six players in double figures and Draymond Green had his second triple-double of the season. Ian Clark was hot in the first half, and Shaun Livingston made three big baskets down the stretch to doom the Nuggets  Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant all scored more than twenty points in the game and the Warriors are now 12-0 for the season when that happens. As a result, the Warriors were able to down a very determined Denver Nugget team 127-119.

Both teams played a very high scoring first quarter as evidenced by the fact that each team shot over 60% from the floor, The lead changed hands several times in the quarter, but the Dubs finished the first 12 minutes of play leading 35-33.  Steph, Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Zaza Pachulia and Ian Clark led the team in scoring. The Dubs increased the lead to four at the half when KD hit a 3-point shot as the buzzer sounded. The Warriors couldn’t put Denver into its dust. The Dubs tried, but the Nuggets kept coming back. They Nuggets tied the game at 51, but the Warriors were able to go up by six 62-56. The Nuggets closed the gap to just one 65-64, but Durant’s 3-pointer at the buzzer put the Warriors ahead by 4. Kevin Durant led the Dubs with 13.

Zaza Pachulia added 9, Klay had 12 and Steph tallied 11. Ian Clark, coming off the bench scored 12. Clark is getting more playing time, and his confidence has soared as he has become an instant offense for Golden State when he comes into the game. Jokic had 8 for Denver. Greg Harris had 7, and Wilson Chandler knocked down 6. Gallinari, who is six feet 10 inches tall scored 11. Jusuf Nurkic and Will Barton, coming off the bench, tallied nine apiece for the Nuggets.

The Dubs, who usually go on a tear in the third quarter to put away their opponent, were not able to do that to the Nuggets. They did outscore the Nuggets by five to increase the lead to 9 at the end of the period, but it was not easy. The Dubs were leading by 6 points 86-80 when Steph Curry scored 2 buckets and 2 free throws. Draymond Green also made 2 free throws, and the Dubs enjoyed a 14-point lead which was the biggest lead of the night. The Nuggets scored the next 5 points and trailed by just nine heading into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Warriors led by 15 late in the quarter. Shaun Livingston made three big buckets to help propel the Dubs to that advantage. The Nuggets kept coming back. With the score 121-111, the Warriors failed to score on three trips to the basket. The Nuggets closed the gap to six. The key play to seal the win was made by Draymond Green. Draymond not only fought for an offensive rebound but was able to make a layup to put the Warriors up by eight. Each team scored another basket, and the Warriors won again 127-119.

Game notes- the Warriors big tree of Klay Thompson, Steph Curry had 25, 22, and 21 points respectively. The Warriors had good ball movement again as they tallied 33 assists in the game. Denver also moved the ball well, and they recorded 33 assists too. The Warriors shot 52.6% from the floor and held Denver to 47.5%. The Dubs made 11 3-point shots in 15 attempts while Denver was 9-for-35 in that department. The Warriors turned the ball over 13 times which pleased coach Steve Kerr. Denver also took care of the ball as the committed just 14 turnovers in the game.  The Warriors scored 22 fast break points and had 56 points in the paint.

Denver had 60 points in the paint for the game. The Warrior defense had trouble with Denver’s big men, but Steve Kerr said the “we started defending well the last five minutes of the second quarter.  Draymond Green scored 15 points to go along with 13 assists and 10 rebounds for his second consecutive game with a triple-double. Green was a force on the floor all night, and he made two huge rebounds that helped secure the win for Golden State. Jokic and Chandler led Denver with 21 points each. Gallinari had 19, Nurkic 15, Barton 14, and Harris 11.

After the game, Kerr said that “Denver changed their style a little bit.” Coach Mike Malone, a former Warrior assistant coach, and former Sacramento Kings head coach, removed Nurkic from the starting lineup and has him coming off the bench. Chandler replaced him in the starting lineup. The Warrior’s bench player scored 33 points in the game, and Kerr said ” the bench was the key to the game.” they had to be good as the Denver bench outscored them 39-33.

The Warriors won their 30th game of the season and are now 30-5. Denver, a team that had won 5 of their last 8, falls to 14-19.

The Warriors resume play Wednesday night against the Portland Trailblazers at Oracle Arena. Game time will be at 7:30 pm. It will be the third meeting of the year between the two teams, and the Blazers will be trying to avenge the 45  point loss the last time the played the Dubs in Oakland on December 17th.

 

 

 

 

 

The Warriors cruise to victory over the Dallas Mavericks 108-99

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The Golden State Warriors defeated the Dallas Mavericks Friday night at Oracle Arena 108-99. The Mavs, making their second visit to Oakland, did not have former Warrior Andrew Bogut in uniform. Mavs’ coach Rick Carlisle decided to rest Bogut after he played las night in Los Angeles. The other former Warrior, Harrison Barnes, was in uniform and he led the Mavs in scoring with 25 points.

The two teams played a very even first quarter. The game was tied at 29 after the first 12 minutes of play. The Dubs took the lead for good in the second quarter. They played a very methodical quarter as they ended the half leading 59-48. The Dubs were rebounding well, and they scored 15 points using the fast break. The core four of Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson all were instrumental in leading the Dubs to the 11-point advantage at the half 59-48. The Dubs shot 54% from the floor, the had 17 assists and just 4 turnovers. They also outscored the Mavs in the paint 24-12.

The Dubs, behind Klay Thompson’s 17 points in the third quarter, increased the lead to 22 91-69. Thompson was in one of his patented “zones, Nowitzki” and his teammates were finding him as often as they could. However, the fourth quarter, as has been the case the last two games, was ugly. The Mavs outscored the Dubs 30-17 but could not overcome the 22 point deficit. The Dubs scored just 7 points in the last 7minutes and 11 seconds of the game. They did not score a point in the last 3:32. Warriors win 108-99

Game Notes- Kevin Durant recorded his first triple-double of the season. He scored 19 to go along with 10 assists and 11 rebounds. Klay Thompson led the Dubs with 29. Draymond Green pitched in with 13 points, seven assists, and eight boards. Steph Curry finished the night with 14.  The Warriors’ bench players made significant contributions, too. JaVale McGee and David West each scored 8 points. Ian Clark had seven and Shaun Livingston knocked down six. The Mavs were led by Harrison Barnes 25 pointNowitzki, in his 19th season had eleven and Deron Williams also scored eleven. Neither player scored in the second half. Wesley Matthews had 14, Seth Curry 11 and former Stanford Cardinal standout, Dwight Powell pitched in with 10. Most of Powell’s scores came in the fourth quarter and almost got the Mavs back into the game.

The Warriors improve to 29-5, the best record in the NBA. The Mavs fall to 10-24.

After the game when asked about his performance, Klay Thompson said that he was “being patient, trying to get a great shot.” He also said this about his team:”we moved the ball well and we shared the ball well.” Klay answered this when asked about Kevin Durant. “He does everything great. He is huge for us.”

The Warriors meet the Denver Nuggets on Monday, January 2nd at Oracle Arena at 7:30 pm.