Tag: Stephen Curry

Warriors roll over Knicks on Curry’s birthday

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — A night after head coach Steve Kerr rested all his starters and the reserves came up just short in their place in a 114-103 road loss to the Denver Nuggets Friday night, the Golden State Warriors bounced back in hurry, trouncing the hapless New York Knicks 125-94 Saturday night to begin a six-game homestand.

Klay Thompson finished with 27 points in 26 minutes, and MVP candidate and birthday boy Stephen Curry, who turned 27 Saturday, scored 25 points and 11 assists with just one turnover in 27 minutes.

The Splash Brothers knocked down 12 of the Warriors’ 19 3s. Golden State shot 19-for-34 (56 percent) from behind the arc.

The game got off to a sluggish start for Golden State in the first quarter, shooting just 35 percent and allowing New York to take a 27-26 lead at the end of the quarter.

But Curry and the Warriors exploded in the second half, outscoring the Knicks 47-25 in the second quarter, thanks in large part by runs of 10-0 by the Warriors’ reserves, and a 14-1 run by the starters.

“We we’re playing hard, but we just couldn’t get off to a better start in the first quarter,” said Curry. “The bench came in a did a great job for us tonight and gave us a real boast.”

Draymond Green chipped in with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Justin Holiday scored 10 of his 13 points off the bench in the second quarter, nailing back-to-back 3s. Holiday, who started in place of Thompson in Denver Friday night, scored a career-high 23 points, including 5-for-7 on 3s.

David Lee added 10 points and four rebounds, while Marreese Speights scored nine points as Golden State’s bench outscored New York’s bench, 49-41. The Warriors outscored the Knicks 28-11 on fast break points.

“That as good as it gets,” said Kerr, “We didn’t get off to a good start in the first quarter, turning over the ball and forcing a few shots, but I thought we did a fabulous job responding.”

Andrea Bargnani led New York with 18 points, and Alexy Shved scored 14 points and dished out five assists.

Tim Hardaway Jr., son of Warriors’ great Tim Hardaway Sr., finished with 13 points off the bench for the Knicks, who shot 39 percent from the floor (38-for-96), and an abysmal 36 percent (9-for-25) from 3.

New York (13-52) falls to 5-29 on the road this season.

With the win, Golden State improves to an NBA-best 52-13 (surpassing the 51 wins from last season), and 29-2 at Oracle Arena. The Warriors are 34-0 this season when holding opponents under 100 points in a game.

Golden State hosts the Los Angeles Lakers Monday night.

Green’s 23 points leads Warriors past Clippers

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND —  Draymond Green scored a game-high 23 points on 8-for-15 shooting from the field in  28 minutes helping the Golden State Warriors extend their lead in the Pacific Division to 10 games with a 106-98 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers Sunday at Oracle Arena. It was the 111th straight sellout for the Warriors, and their sixth straight at Oracle Arena where their an NBA-best 27-2 this season.

“We were aggressive today, which was huge for us,” said Green, who added six assists. “I thought guys were active and ready to play.”

Klay Thompson finished with 21 points on 9-for-13 shooting, while Shaun Livngston provided a lift off the bench scoring a season-high 21 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Livingston shot 9-for-14 from the floor in 28 minutes.

Stephen Curry, who didn’t score his first points until 5:16 left before halftime, finished with 12 points on 3-for-9 shoot to go along with four assists, but did have three steals which extended his consecutive games streak with at least one steal to 25 games.

Golden State (49-12) shot 50 percent (40-for-80) from the floor, and 45 percent (10-for-22) from three-point range. Green and Thompson each drained three from behind the arc.

Thompson’s three 3s moved him past his head coach, Steve Kerr (726), on the all-time list.

The Clippers (40-22), who were playing without Blake Griffin and Jamal Crawford, dropped their fifth straight game in Oakland.

Backup point guard Austin Rivers led all Clippers players with 22 points off the bench in 31 minutes. J.J. Redick scored 18 points in 27 minutes on 8-for-12 shooting.

Chris Paul scored 14 points and dropped 11 assists, while DeAndre Jordan grabbed 11 of the Clippers 39 rebounds.

Los Angeles outscored Golden State 42-30 in the paint, but the Warriors forced 18 Clippers’ turnovers that led to 22 points.

“I don’t think they like us. I don’t know why,” Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers said after the loss. “Steve (Kerr) told me he didn’t like me. We’re the last team to knock them out, and they know that. So I think that adds to it.”

Golden State avenged a 100-86 loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles on Christmas night; after Golden State pummeled Los Angeles 121-104 back in November in Oakland.

The home team has won each of the last 10 regular-season games. Golden State and Los Angeles play one more time in Los Angeles on March 31.

Golden State, who averaged a win-margin of 15.3 points per game in home wins, play the Suns in Phoenix on Monday.

 

 

 

 

Warriors Improve to 3-0 Against Dallas This Season

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By Matthew Harrington

The Golden State Warriors put a Texas-sized beatdown on the Dallas Mavericks Friday night, topping Dirk Nowitzki and company 104-89. Golden State (48-12) produced one of its best recent defensive performances to best the Mavs for a third-straight contest this season.

The Warriors, led by Andrew Bogut’s game-high 13 boards, out-rebounded the Mavs 51-34. Golden State’s defensive identity returned in spades at home Friday, with the Warriors holding the Dallas (40-24) to 36.8 percent shooting. Nowitzki, Rajon Rondo and Monte Ellis went a combined 13 for 45 from the field.
Stephen Curry again dropped a night’s-best 22 points on a 6-for-11 shooting night, including 5 of 8 on three-pointers while Draymond Green came a rebound shy of the double-double (18 pts, 9 rebounds). Reserve Shaun Livingston put up 10 points and pulled down 10 boards to accomplish the feat.
The Warriors took a 29-24 lead after the first quarter, then held Dallas to 16 points while adding 23 of their own for a 52-40 halftime edge. Golden State outscored the Mavericks 52-49 to close out the win.

The defensive showcase comes at a perfect time for the Warriors. They host the rival Los Angeles Clippers Sunday in a high-profile match-up.

Warriors overpower Celtics after erasing 26-point deficit in Boston

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BOSTON — The Golden State Warriors continue to be the class of the NBA.

Stephen Curry poured in 37 points, while fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson added 20 points as the Warriors erased a 26-point lead to defeat the Boston Celtics 106-101 Sunday night in Beantown. With the win, Golden State continue hold the NBA’s best record at 46-11 and giving the Warriors their seventh win in their last nine games.

Harrison Barnes chipped in with 17 points and eight rebounds and Draymond Green scored 14 points (11 in the fourth quarter).

“This was a fun challenge for us,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. “If we lost, it wouldn’t have been the end of the world. But we were down and we came back. I was happy that we showed good poise.”

“We didn’t want to be down 26,” Curry said after the Warriors played their fifth game on a six-game road trip, and the middle of a string of three games in four nights. “It seemed like it was sluggish there in the first quarter. We had to be mentally tough to make it an interesting game and close out the half.”

Golden State has won four straight versus Boston for the first time since the team moved west from Philadelphia in 1962, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

Isaiah Thomas led Boston with 20 points off the bench, and Tyler Zeller finished with 17 points for the Celtics, who saw their three-game winning streak snapped.

Jae Crowder recorded 17 of Boston’s game-high 60 rebounds, compared to Golden State’s 55 total rebounds. Brandon Bass added 15 points and 12 rebounds for Boston.

Boston dominated Golden State 22-10 on fast break points, while Golden State shoot better from the floor than Boston, 42 percent (40-for-95) for Golden State, 36 percent (40-for-109) for Boston.

Golden State continued to shoot lights out on 3s, knocking down 12-of-34 (35 percent). Boston shot just 26 percent (8-for-31) from behind the arc.

Golden State wraps up it’s six-game road swing Monday night in Brooklyn.

 

 

Warriors bounce back with win in Toronto

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By. Joe Hawkes-Beamon

TORONTO — After falling to 110-99 Thursday night in Cleveland in which the Warriors looked out of sync, Golden State needed to get back on track in a big way.

Klay Thompson had 25 points and five assists and Stephen Curry finished with 22 points, six rebounds, and five assists as the Golden State Warriors held a 41-point lead after three quarters before pulling away from the Raptors 113-89 Friday night in Toronto.

Golden State (45-11), improved to 10-2 in back-to-back games this season, and sweeps the season series against the Raptors.

The Warriors held the Raptors to just 1-for-19 shooting (5 percent) in the first quarter, but it was Golden State outscoring Toronto 44-26 in the third quarter that really proved to be the difference in the game.

Defensively, Golden State out-rebounded Toronto (47-42), and forced the Raptors to commit 19 turnovers that led to 24 points for the Warriors. The Warriors held the edge in fast break points, outscoring Toronto 22-7.

“We wanted to get stops and force turnovers,” said Curry, who shot 8-of-13 from the floor. “We’re pretty confident that we could come out and play defense and it showed tonight.”

“We just tightened down tonight,” said Warriors forward Draymond Green. “Everybody made a consistent effort to stay in front of their man.”

Green finished with 17 points and nine rebounds. Leandro Barbosa and Shaun Livingston each scored 11 points off the bench for Golden State.

“Draymond made some great plays, forced some turnovers,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. “He got us started.”

Golden State shot a blistering 13-for-29 from three-point range (46 percent).

“Our team knows how to respond following a loss, and I think we responded pretty well. It was satisfying for us to come out and play like we did after last night’s loss.”

Terrence Ross finished with 18 points and DeMar DeRozan finished with 14 points on 4-of-16 from the floor for Toronto (37-21), who’ve dropped their fourth straight game.

Kyle Lowry scored just four points on 1-of-7 shooting for Toronto. The Raptors couldn’t find the bottom of the net, shooting just 31-of-77 (40 percent) from floor, but a dismal 4-of-22 (18 percent) on 3s.

After an off day on Saturday, the Warriors continue their six-game road trip (1-2) through the Eastern Conference in Boston on Sunday.

 

 

Curry’s Health Not In Question After 32-Point Night Against Wizards

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

All it took was one game for Stephen Curry to alleviate Warriors fan’s concerns about a foot injury. After missing Golden State’s previous contest, the All-Star guard returned with authority Tuesday night against the Washington Wizards. On the road at the Verizon Center Curry collected a game-high 32 points over 33 minutes of play, leading the Warriors (44-10) to a 114-197 win over their Eastern Conference foe.

The dark horse candidate for Most Valuable Player hit 11 of 18 field goals, including 5 of 9 from three-point land to lead the Dubs. Curry also came a pair of assists shy of a double-double. Washington’s Marcin Gortat (16 points, 11 rebounds) and John Wall (16 points, 11 assists) each earned double-doubles, while Paul Pierce scored a team-high 25 points.

For the Warriors, David Lee pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds but Golden State lost the board battle 45-29. The Dubs hit exactly half the shots they took, connecting on 45 attempts, while the Wizards shot 53.2 percent from the field. The biggest difference came in turnovers, with the Warriors defense forcing 26 turnovers out of their opponent while coughing up the rock on a miscue just 9 times.

Washington scored the first nine consecutive points of the contest but Golden State outscored them 30-19 to close out the first half up 30-28. The Warriors wouldn’t trail for the rest of the first half, heading to the locker room up 54-51.

The Wizards scored 22 of the first 40 points of the second half to take their first 2nd half lead 73-72 with just over five minutes left in the third, but Golden State wound up back on top 86-83 heading into the final 12 minutes. From there, the Warriors outscored the Wizards 28-24 to hand Washington (33-24) its fourth straight loss.

Curry’s next test of the foot comes in a prime match-up against the league’s best super star. LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers host the Warriors Thursday night on national television, with the game being broadcast on TNT.

Curry, well-rested Warriors outrun dragging Spurs

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND  — Stephen Curry finished with a game-high 25 points and 11 assists, and fellow Splash Bros. Klay Thompson added 20 points as Golden State picked up right where they left off pre-All-Star Break with a 110-99 victory over the San Antonio Spurs Friday night to improve to 24-2 at Oracle Arena this year and 43-9, both NBA-bests.

Curry’s second quarter technical foul ignited the Warriors, who finished the second quarter on a 21-11 run to take a 62-55 lead at halftime and never looked back.

Golden State avenged their 113-100 home loss to the Spurs back on Nov. 11 with a full team effort, including shooting a blistering 51 percent (17-for-33) from behind the three-point arc.

Harrison Barnes scored 16 points and five rebounds, while Andre Iguodala finished with 14 points including knocking down 4-for-6 from downtown.

“The ball movement was tremendous tonight,” Iguodala said of the Warriors, who outscored San Antonio 23-10 on fast break points.

Draymond Green and David Lee each finished with 11 points. Green finished tied with Iguodala and Andrew Bogut for a team-high six rebounds.

Kawhi Leonard and Aron Baynes each scored a team-high 12 points for San Antonio (34-21), who dropped their second straight road game post-All-Star break. San Antonio lost 119-115 to the Clippers in Los Angeles Thursday night where Leonard shot 1-for-11 from the floor.

Baynes finished with a game-high 11 rebounds.

Boris Diaw had 11 points, while Marco Belinelli had nine points for the Spurs, who shot 60 percent in the first half, but cooled off in the second half finishing with 48 percent from floor.

San Antonio controlled the points in the paints, 44-40, and shot a better free throw percentage than Golden State (15-for-20 75 percent for Spurs to 11-for-18 61 percent for Golden State) but the Spurs couldn’t buy a bucket from three-point range, shooting 6-for-19 (31 percent).

Tony Parker, who was harassed by Curry’s defense the entire night, finished with just two points and six assists.

Tim Duncan scored just eight points after a 30-point effort in Los Angeles.

The Warriors hit the road for a six-game stretch through the Eastern Conference, starting Sunday in Indiana.

 

 

Curry takes Three-Point Shootout Crown, Thompson finishes third

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

BROOKLYN — I guess the fourth time is the charm, just ask Stephen Curry.

Curry nailed 13 consecutive shots to finish with 27 points, outlasting Cleveland guard Kyrie Irving and fellow Warriors’ teammate Klay Thompson in the championship round to take home the Footlocker Three-Point Shootout title during NBA All-Star Saturday night.

The Splash Bros. were definitely on a mission tonight, with Thompson leading all shooters with 24 points in the opening round to advance to the championship round, while Curry and Irving each had 23 points.

Irving, who won the event in 2013, finished the championship round with 17 points. Klay Thompson mustered 14.

Portland’s guard Wesley Matthews scored 22 points.

But the night belonged to Curry, whose 27 points in the championship round is the most in any round in the event’s history, which began in 1986. Jason Kapono (2008) and Craig Hodges (1986), co-held the previous record with 25 points.

Curry’s 13 consecutive shots is second all time, behind 19 in a row by Hodges in 1991.

Atlanta’s All-Star Kyle Korver  (the NBA’s leader in 3-point shooting this season) and San Antonio’s guard Marco Belinelli (2014 champion) each finished with 18 points.

Houston’s All-Star James Harden finished with 15 points.

Neither players finished the first round.

 

Warriors Stop Sixers Streak at 4

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By Matthew T.F. Harrington

It wasn’t quite the romp one would expect, but the Golden State Warriors did prevail 89-84 against the 76ers in Philadelphia Monday night. Despite an off night from the Splash Brothers (if 33 combined points can be considered “off”), the Dubs ended the Sixers four-game win streak while handing the surefire lottery pick candidates a 41st loss on the season.
Former Sixers Andre Igoudala (13 points) and Marreese Speights (10) provided critical depth off the bench on a night when Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson hit a combined 11 of 34 shots.

The Splash Brothers finished with only 4 three-pointers on 18 attempts, but Curry still managed a team-best 20 points. Thompson finished with 13. Leandro Barbosa provided the lift for the Warriors, with the reserve guard collecting 16 points in just under 20 minutes of work. The Sixers Robert Covington scored a game-best 21.

Philadelphia (12-41) led 24-20 after 12 minutes, but trailed by two 46-44 at the half. The Warriors opened up the final 24 minutes on an 8-2 run to build a lead they would all the way down to finish, leading by as much as ten points at one point.

The Warriors earned at least a .500 record during their four-game road trip with victories over the Sixers and Knicks. The capper would be a triumph over a struggling Minnesota Timberwolves squad Wednesday night to run the Warriors (41-9) record to 3-1 on the away set. The trip began with a 124-116 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

Hawks get by Warriors in matchup of NBA heavyweights

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

ATLANTA — If critics still had their doubts about the Atlanta Hawks being the best team in the NBA.

Doubt no more.

Atlanta finished with seven players score in double figures, led by Jeff Teague’s 23 points on 5-of-15 shooting from the field, but shot 11-of-11 from the charity stripe as the Hawks shot a blistering 70.6 percent in the third quarter to take a 124-116 home victory over the Golden State Warriors Friday night in the battle of the top two teams from each conference.

Paul Milsap scored 21 points, Kyle Korver had 17 points (5-of-9 from 3-point range), and Al Horford finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Hawks, who improved to an NBA-best 42-9 and 14-3 versus the Western Conference with the victory.

The lion share of the credit must got to the Hawks’ bench, that really determine the outcome of the game.

Mike Scott scored 17 points, Kent Bazemore had 11 points, and Dennis Schroder finished with nine points but combined to sink 7-of-8 on 3s. The second-best 3-pointing shooting shot 15-of-27 from 3-point range and outscored the Warrior’s bench, 39-32.

“They were good,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. “They were better than us. We broke down defensively. They had a lot to do with that because of the way they stretch you out.”

The Hawks have won 21 of their last 22 games following a franchise record 19-game winning streak.

After leading 25-21 at the end of the first quarter, Golden State (39-9) just slowed down against Hawks team that improved to 25-3 at home this season, second to Golden State’s 23-2 record at Oracle Arena.

Klay Thompson had a game-high 29 points and Stephen Curry scored 26 points, to go along with nine assist and one turnover.

Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green had 12 points apiece, but Green had a gigantic night on the glass, finishing with a career-high 20 rebounds.

Golden State did have their way with the Hawks in the paint, outscoring Atlanta 58-36 down low. The Warriors even held the edge in rebounding, outrebouding the Hawks 51-38.

But Golden State committed too many turnovers (14), and never overcame the 14-4 run by Atlanta in the final minute of the second quarter after leading 50-47.

Golden State will have another chance at Atlanta when the Hawks visit Oakland on Mar. 18.

The Warriors continue their road trip Saturday night at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks, their fourth game in five nights.

Extra Buckets:

  • The game showcase three of the eight contenders in the Three-Point Contest before NBA All-Star Weekend in New York Feb. 14 in Warriors’ duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, and Atlanta’s Kyle Korver.
  • The entire starting five of the Hawks (Horford, Teague, Korver, Milsap, and Carroll) were named Eastern Conference Players of the Month for January, the first time in NBA history that an entire starting five were given the honor. Atlanta finished 17-0 in January, tops in the NBA.
  • Apparently, Curry does not like Teague defending him at all. According to ESPN Stats and Information, Curry shot 3-of-8 on jump shots with Teague as his primary defender. In the first quarter, Curry shot 1-of-6 from the field, his worst of the season. He was 0-of-4 against Teague.