Warriors 120, Heat 118: Warriors rely on Steph,…
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Warriors 120, Heat 118: Warriors rely on Steph, KD & Klay
Warriors' Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant & Klay Thompson achieved offensive balance vs. Miami Heat
OAKLAND, CA – FEBRUARY 10: Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) drives past Miami Heat defender Bam Adebayo (13) during the second half of their game on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND, CA – FEBRUARY 10: Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) passes the ball around Miami Heat guard Dion Waiters (11) during the first half of their game on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND, CA – FEBRUARY 10: Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins (0) guards Miami Heat forward Bam Adebayo (13) during the first half of their game on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND, CA – FEBRUARY 10: Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) battles Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside (21) for the ball during the second half of their game on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND, CA – FEBRUARY 10: Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) reacts after scoring a basket in the second half of their game against the Miami Heat on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND, CA – FEBRUARY 10: Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr reacts to a call during the second half of their game against the Miami Heat on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND, CA – FEBRUARY 10: Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives between the Miami Heat's Dion Waiters (11) and Rodney McGruder (17) during the first half of their game on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND, CA – FEBRUARY 10: Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) has his shot blocked by Miami Heat defender Bam Adebayo (13) during the second half of their game on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND, CA – FEBRUARY 10: Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) makes a basket during the first half of their game against the Miami Heat on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND, CA – FEBRUARY 10: Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) shoots a basket over Miami Heat defender Justise Winslow (20) during the first half of their game on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND, CA – FEBRUARY 10: Golden State Warriors players Draymond Green (23) and Shaun Livingston (34) react to a call from the officials during the second half of their game against the Miami Heat on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND, CA – FEBRUARY 10: Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade (3) shoots a basket over Golden State Warriors defender Kevon Looney (5) during the second half of their game on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND, CA – FEBRUARY 10: Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins (0) reacts to a call during the second half of their game against the Miami Heat on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND, CA – FEBRUARY 10: Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) is guarded by the Miami Heat's Justise Winslow (20) during the first half of their game on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State guard Klay Thompson defends as Miami Heat guard Dion Waiters attempts a layup during the first half of their game on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (Dylan Bouscher/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Warriors guard Quinn Cook (4) attempts to score during the first half of their game against Miami Heat on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (Dylan Bouscher/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins (0) blocks as Miami Heat center Josh Richardson (0) attempts a layup during the first half of their game on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (Dylan Bouscher/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) approaches the hoop to score as Miami Heat guard Rodney McGruder (17) defends during during the first half of their game on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019, in Oakland, Calif. (Dylan Bouscher/Bay Area News Group)
By Mark Medina |
PUBLISHED: February 10, 2019 at 7:55 pm | UPDATED: February 11, 2019 at 5:19 am
OAKLAND – The Warriors lacked focus. They committed costly turnovers. They conceded too many 3's. They played with the kind of energy they often displayed in past seasons during the NBA dog days.
Yet, the Warriors finished with a 120-118 victory over the Miami Heat on Sunday at Oracle Arena for primarily the same reason they have won two consecutive NBA championships.
Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry are really good at playing basketball. Durant scored 39 points on 16-of-24 shooting, despite going only 1-of-7 from distance. Klay Thompson had 29 points on a 11-of-21 clip overall and 6-of-13 mark from the perimeter. Curry added 25 points while going 9-of-18 from the field and 5-of-10 from distance.
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Technically, DeMarcus Cousins made a pair of foul shots to give the Warriors a 120-118 lead with 5.4 seconds left. Then, Heat guard Dion Waiters missed a 28-footer at the buzzer that Durant mused "was a bad shot." But the Warriors (40-15) collected their 15th win out of the past 16 games mostly by leaning on their top scorers.
"It's just who they are," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "There's a reason they're all going to Charlotte next week for the All-Star game."
How Durant, Curry and Thompson impacted the game
And the reason why all three of them excelled in the same game? All three of them found different times to fuel the offense.
The Warriors committed two turnovers that led to the Heat holding a 118-115 lead with 51.5 seconds remaining. But in what Kerr called "the biggest shot of the game," Durant drilled a 29-foot step-back 3-pointer to tie the game at 118 with 44.1 seconds left. Incidentally, that marked Durant's first 3 after missing his first six of the night from distance.
"I wasn't really thinking about nothing. I just shot the ball," Durant a said. "It's a make or miss league. I miss those shots, you talk about something different. I try to shoot my shots. Everybody here is trying to shoot their shots. The game will dictate who gets the most."
So after going 1-of-4 from the field in the first quarter, Curry finished 8-of-14 the rest of the way. After allowing Durant and Curry to handle most of the workload through the first three quarters, Thompson scored 14 fourth-quarter points.
"We just had to be a little bit more methodical with the shots we were trying to get," Curry said. "Every possession was important in this game."
Even if the Warriors trailed by as many as 19 points, they completed their largest comeback of the season for a simple reason. Curry, Durant and Thompson each scored at least 25 points in the same game for the 12th time as teammates and the sixth time this season.
"Whoever is open. Whoever is rolling at that time, pass them the ball," said Draymond Green, who had a season-high 14 assists. "Pretty simple job."
The Warriors achieved this offensive utopia by ensuring balance in shot attempts to Durant (24), Thompson (21) and Curry (18). Yet, the Warriors did not just rely on their offense that often predicates on ball movement. They also featured Durant in isolation.
So with Miami (25-29) closely guarding the perimeter, Durant dominated by attacking the basket and excelling in the post. He went 15-of-18 in mid-range shots.
"We don't want to just rely on 3's all the time," Durant said. "So when the team is yinging, I try to yang a bit to offset what we're doing out there and give us some balance."
(Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
The Warriors are struggling with the NBA dog days
The Warriors did not have morning shootaround because of the early start (5:30 pm PT). Kerr forewarned their players that "Miami every year, no matter what their roster looks like, is one of the best defensive clubs and most disciplined." Just like the Warriors showed early in their eventual win over Phoenix on Friday, though, they lacked focus, energy and interest.
"You want my honest opinion? My honest opinion, it's the dog days right now," Green said. "We usually hit that in January, but we didn't hit that because we got DeMarcus back. It gave us an extra boost. We're there right now."
As a result, the Heat (25-29) featured Josh Richardson (37), Waiters (24), Justise Winslow (22) and Dwyane Wade (10) logging double figures. They combined to go 18-of-43 from 3-point range. And the Heat dominated the Warriors on the offensive glass (19-7).
"We treated it like a Sunday walk in the park," Durant said. "This team is disciplined every time they step n the floor. After a while, we locked in and were able to use our talent and mix in with some of our schemes and we were able to get back in the game."
The Warriors have off on Monday. They then have two games against Utah (Tuesday at Oracle Arena) and at Portland (on Wednesday). Then, Curry, Durant and Thompson will head to Charlotte for All-Star weekend, while the rest of their teammates and coaches take various vacations.
So it would not be surprising if the Warriors struggling with not appearing checked out.
The Warriors leaned on DeMarcus Cousins in crunch time
Cousins has not received his wish yet to reach the 30-minute mark. For the first time since returning from a left Achilles tendon injury nearly three weeks ago, however, Cousins closed the game.
The reasons? Andre Iguodala sat out because of left hamstring tightness. The Warriors also wanted to account for Whiteside's presence. So Cousins, who had seven points on 2-of-6 shooting and three rebounds in 27 minutes, played from the 3:38 mark until 5.4 seconds left. Before that, Cousins made what Kerr called "one of the big plays of the game. Cousins grabbed an offensive rebound off of Durant's miss, drew a foul on Winslow and then making a pair of foul shots for a 120-118 lead.
"It was a good night for him and for us to feel that kind of defensive pressure. We definitely have to get better at both ends," Kerr said. "I thought they exposed us on a couple of sets that bothered us over and over again. We have to make some improvement. But that's always the case. I was really happy he was out there at the end of the game. It was a good experience for him."
Whenever Iguodala returns to the lineup, it appears likely Cousins will sit again in crunch time. Cousins still faces a minutes restriction. Iguodala has more experience playing with the Warriors' four other All-Stars.
And yet..
"Cuz is a great player so you never know how that plays out," Green said. "Some nights it may be Cuz. Some nights it may be Andre. Some nights it may be those two, not me. You never know how those two will play out. But I think it's a great problem to have, if you want to call it a problem. It went well. Cuz is starting to find more and more of a rhythm each game."
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Warriors are passing these shirts out to fans for tonight's game as part of Black History Month pic.twitter.com/Sc0Eks4zqu
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) February 10, 2019
The Warriors handed out shirts for Black History month
All Warriors fans received a "Black History is Golden" T-Shirt, a motto that Iguodala coined. Dimensions Dance, an Oakland-based dance company aimed to bridge cultural, racial and ethnic differences, also performed at halftime.
"We've come a long ways," Green said. "You look at opportunities today where black culture stands. Black culture drives a lot of things these days. It's a step in the right direction. But a long ways to go, though."
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Kerr throws his pitch to Bryce Harper
Even if he remains an avid Dodgers fan, Kerr sounded genuinely excited about the possibility that free-agent slugger Bryce Harper would sign with the San Francisco Giants.
"That'll be fun! That'd be fun if Bryce Harper came here," Kerr said. "Does my opinion matter? 'Bryce! Come to the Giants! Let's go!'"
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