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Warriors withstand furious second half charge, defeat Nets in Brooklyn

By

Kerry Crowley

/

There are teams throughout the NBA that are forced to play their stars early in the season, despite aches and pains, bumps and bruises, and anything else that might have a player feeling less than 100 percent.

Then, there are the Golden State Warriors.

For the second time this season, the Warriors elected to give forward Kevin Durant a day off, and for the second time this year, Golden State won without Durant in a blowout. Thanks to the first half exploits of star point guard Steph Curry, Golden State opened up a 22-point halftime lead and overcame an extended Brooklyn second half run in a 118-111 victory over the Nets.

Curry paced the Warriors on the offensive side all evening, as he finished with 39 points on 14-of-24 shooting. However, he was not around in the final moments of the game as the Nets engineered a comeback, as Curry fouled out with three minutes remaining. Brooklyn took advantage of the minutes Curry was off the floor in the second half, trimming a 28-point Warriors’ lead down to five points inside of two minutes to play.

Though Durant’s sprained left ankle wasn’t deemed especially serious by head coach Steve Kerr, the Warriors gave him the night off, and took advantage of a Nets team without guards Jeremy Lin and D’Angelo Russell.

After allowing 47 points in the first quarter in a 124-116 over Philadelphia on Saturday night, the Warriors held the Nets to just 42 first half points. Draymond Green, David West and Kevon Looney provided excellent defense in the post, and offset the loss of Durant, who entered the weekend as one of the NBA’s leaders in blocked shots.

Looney, who finished with a career-high plus-19 on Saturday night, provided muscle on the offensive side of the floor as well, as he muscled in a pair of and-one buckets to pace Golden State in the paint.

The Warriors’ offensive fireworks, though, were led by Curry, who toyed with the Nets’ in half court sets and blew past Brooklyn’s defense in transition. After a slow first half on Saturday night, Curry dropped 23 points in the third quarter against the 76ers and carried that momentum through to Sunday’s contest.

Curry credited Warriors’ assistant coach Bruce Fraser for helping him regain his shooting rhythm, as Fraser whispered a tip in Curry’s ear during Golden State’s win over Philadelphia that helped the guard focus on aiming for the back part of the rim.

Though the Warriors were unable to put the Celtics away after opening up a pair of 17-point leads on Thursday night, Golden State hardly relented on the advantage it built up by halftime. While Curry set the tone for the Warriors, Green played a role in extending the lead in the second half, drilling down his first three of the night early in the third quarter.

The Nets’ evening was perhaps best summed up by a third quarter layup attempt from forward Quincy Acy, who drove down the lane with a clear path to the hoop and wound up bricking his attempt off the backboard.

On the back end of a back-to-back, Kerr should have been able to rest a handful of regulars in the fourth quarter, but due to Curry’s foul trouble and the Nets’ extended run, Golden State was forced to refocus and re-calibrate before exiting with a win.

 

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