Give the Warriors multiple games and they will figure you out, that’s been the theme the last few years.
Unfortunately for the Phoenix Suns the NBA schedule makers had them face the Warriors three times in a little over 30 days, and the result was what you’d expect, a 138-109 trampling of the Suns.
Each time these two teams met, the Warriors winning margin increased.
There was a tight six-point win on October 30, 13-point win November 13 that was close till late in the fourth and now a 29-point destruction Saturday.
Unlike the previous games this one was never close aside from the early part of the first quarter and a small run to close the half.
Playing a team so often, especially a team who isn’t very good, can lead to some lapses and that’s what happened in the second quarter Steve Kerr said:
“That was the most disappointing part of the game, the last two or three minutes of the second quarter, we were up 21 and they cut it to seven. We had a chance to totally take control and we just let our guard down. So that was disappointing, but you have to learn from all that stuff.”
But despite that hiccup, the Warriors maintained control thanks to a huge third quarter from Stephen Curry, who scored 20 just in the third frame.
A game after the big three shot a combined 10-37 from three the Warriors opened up a perfect 6-6 as a team from deep and finished 14-21. Kevin Durant, Curry and Klay Thompson themselves finished an unconscious 12-15 from three, hitting more threes in half the shots they did against Houston.
And when the threes are falling at that rate, it’s damn near impossible to beat this team.
Durant said that once he saw Curry and Thompson had it going he just got lost in the game:
“When those guys get it going we go to another level. They only missed three threes between them both and they took 14 so we got to keep feeding them the ball… When Klay and Steph got it going from three it opens up our whole offense, so we got to move the ball to them.”
Durant did everything tonight—everything except score that is, he finished with 20 points but took only seven shots, the lowest number of field goals he’s attempted since February 27, 2009, a game in which he played just eight minutes and shot 2-3. But he also had 3 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 huge blocks.
Draymond Green said that he definitely notices Durant’s efficiency but was still shocked when he saw Durant only shot seven times in the final box score:
“Jesus, I didn’t know that… But if you watch him, he’ll take one bad shot maybe a game? And it shows in his efficiency… He really prides himself on getting good shots, and I’ll hear him on the bench talking to someone on the other team like, ‘why are you shooting those shots?’ But that just says something about him, he really think that way.”
His presence was felt even without his usual shot selection, especially on the defensive end.
Curry said that Durant can impact a game in so many different ways:
“He gets to the free throw line, he gets some timely blocks. He shows up on the defensive end and allows us to get transition opportunities. He just finds a way to impact a game, whether it’s him shooting 25 times or seven times, you know he was out there and he helped us win, and did it at a very high level.”
But Durant’s large assist total was dwarfed by Green who dished out 13 helpers of his own, leading the Warriors into open shot after open shot.
And Thompson and Curry were the primary beneficiaries as Curry had a team high 31 on just 15 shots and Thompson kicked in 26 on 6-7 from three.
Joining them in double figures surprisingly was a Warriors center duo of David West, who had 10, and JaVale McGee, who continued his strong play scoring 11.
It was an ultra-efficient game from the Warriors who took 13 less shots than the Suns yet made eight more.
About the only thing that went wrong for the Dubs was after Ian Clark hit a free throw and McGee tried to take the ball out of bounds for Phoenix, which drew laughs from the crowd and his teammates.
Eric Bledsoe the lone bright spot for the Suns, going for 27 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals.
Thankfully for Phoenix they won’t see the Warriors again until April 5, although it might not be enough time to figure this team out.
Up Next
The Warriors get one day off before taking on the visiting Indiana Pacers Monday before Golden State embarks on a six-game road trip, the longest of the year so far.
The Warriors have won 13 straight regular-season games following a loss, and have gone a record 106 days without losing consecutive games. …Steve Kerr was named Coach of the Month, which marks his fourth career Coach of the Month honor. He now has as many Coach of the Month awards as all other Warriors coaches combined—Don Nelson (2), George Karl (1) and Luke Walton (1). …The Warriors have scored 100 or more points in 19 of their 20 games this season. The only game they failed to reach 100 was against the Lakers on November 4, when they scored 97.
Last modified December 4, 2016 4:59 pm
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