But they almost did just that until self-destructing in the closing seconds and ultimately falling in overtime, 107-99, in Oakland on Saturday night.
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In the second half of the Golden State Warriors game against the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday, Curry drained the 1,246th 3-pointer of his career, passing his father for the 42nd spot on the all-time list.
But in between, Nets center Brook Lopez couldn’t convert a lob pass from no more than two feet in front of the rim as time expired, extending the game and eventually leading to the Nets’ ninth loss in 10 games this season. “It’s a heartbreaking loss”. A Brooklyn timeout with 2:38 remaining in the quarter allowed the Nets to regroup after they allowed their lead to dwindle to three points.
The challenge for Luke Walton, the Warriors’ coaching staff and their on-the-floor leaders will be to keep the team’s execution crisp and focused even when the team can slide by on something less. “The kid (Johnson) made a nice pass. They got unlucky”.
“We’ll probably steal that from them later in the season”, he said.
The Nets didn’t respond well to the misfortune. The oohs and ahhs of the Minnesota crowd as Curry went to work on Thursday tell you as much about the rare level he’s reached as any eye-popping stat line (for the record: 15-25 from the field, 8-13 from three, 46 points in 38 minutes – light work).
When a team starts 11-0 like the defending champion Golden State Warriors, it becomes easy to overlook flaws.
The Nets had as much as a 17-point lead in the second quarter and led 77-70 after three quarters. “He’s a luxury to have on the court”.
Ultimately, while the Warriors withstood a highly-motivated Jack and the Nets’ A-game, the Warriors’ recent stumbles againstthese less-than-elite teams should serve as a warning.
“Young teams can get sky high when you win”, Mitchell said, “but when you lose it’s like a free fall”. “I blew that chip shot”. When that happens, Dray has learned exactly what he can get with the resulting 4-on-3…In 2015-16, there’s a different type of interior player that has usurped the stretch 4 as an offensive trump card, and Green is its prototype.
Curry scored 34 points to lead the Warriors, but they didn’t come easily. Curry missed 11 of his 16 3-point attempts. Green, the former second-round pick, had 23 points on 8-10 shooting, to go along with 8 rebounds and 12 – TWELVE – assists.
Forward Ersan Ilyasova and point guard Reggie Jackson both scored 20 points for the Pistons, while center Andre Drummond finished with 18 points and 19 rebounds.
It remains to be seen if starting guard Klay Thompson will be available to play against the Raptors after missing the Nets game with back stiffness. A 10-point lead late in the game disappeared all too quickly and Casey was still steaming about it. The Warriors would likely sub out Bogut and go with their deadly small-ball lineup if he was getting fouled, and after a certain point in the game, rules prohibit teams from fouling away from the ball. “They played their hearts out, and we just didn’t execute perfectly in the times that we needed to to win”.
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Jack led the Nets with 28 points, while Young had 26 points and 10 rebounds. He hit a 3-pointer with 7:27 left to cut it to four, and after the two teams traded buckets, he canned another 3-pointer from the left wing to draw Golden State within 85-84. It’s the most points scored in the opening period against the Warriors this season.
