Steph’s back; Draymond never left

By Art Spander

OAKLAND, Calif. — It was Steph Curry’s night, as we knew it would be when he finally was able to play after these long weeks of rehabilitation. But it was also Draymond Green’s night because, even with all the other talent, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and once more Steph Curry, the Warriors are Draymond Green’s team.

He is the fire. He is the persistence. He is leader. He is the man who makes the pieces fit, who rides herd on the defense, who crashes the boards, who forces the issue.

Who made sure the Dubs would not squander the home-court advantage they held over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night, Golden State winning 121-116, the night Curry played for the first time in weeks.

That gave them a 2-0 advantage in the best-of-seven NBA Western Conference semifinals, but the next two games are at New Orleans. “And when their crowd gets into it,” said Curry, “it’s a different environment.”

Roughly six weeks Curry had missed with a knee injury. When he finally got the chance to play, he didn’t miss too many shots, immediately connecting on a 3-pointer and scoring 28 points in all, one fewer than Durant.

“You know,” said Draymond, “it was kind of electric in there, and for him to hit that 3 that fast, it brought a lot of life to the building, and a kind of light, spirit. Pretty fitting for sure.”

Spoken by a man who knows spirit, knows intensity, knows what’s lacking when the Warriors, as they did in the first quarter, don’t play all that well, particularly on defense.

“I had to bring some force,” said Green. “We were playing soft that first quarter. The second quarter, we needed to bring some intensity to the game, and that’s my job.”

As Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry, who knows Green quite well as a former Warriors assistant coach, said, “Draymond can play every position.” And play the school principal if needed.

Green yelled at the Pelicans' Nikola Mirotic and Rajon Rondo, which didn’t displease Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who appreciates the edginess with which Draymond plays.

“I do like to see it as long as there’s no technical involved,” said Kerr. “But you know I thought those two 3s he hit to start the fourth quarter were probably the two biggest shots of the game, because we were kind of struggling, and the ball found its way to Draymond, so those were big shots that gave us a bit of a lead.”

The consecutive 3-pointers, the first 16 seconds into the fourth quarter, the next 16 seconds after that, put Golden State in front, 94-86.

Green had 20 points and team highs of 12 assists and nine rebounds.

“Draymond has been phenomenal throughout the playoffs,” said Kerr. “He’s been saving himself for the playoffs. It’s a long regular season, especially after three straight trips to the finals. And you can tell the difference in the intensity from a lot of our guys, but Draymond in particular.”

Green said about the same thing.

“I live for playoff basketball,” said Draymond. ”It’s the most fun time of the year for me, just locking in and focusing, kind of taking what the defense gives me. You know, just trying to create for my teammates in any way I possibly can.

“When you’re playing a great team like (New Orleans), a team with so many options and weapons, I have to be a threat. I think I’ve done a decent job so far.”

Curry’s return was special, of course. You can’t lose a two-time MVP and not be affected. There were games when others had the same deep open shots as Curry gets but failed to connect.

“I’ve been real eager of late to get back out with my teammates,” said Curry. To play some playoff basketball and get a big win. It was huge.”

He wasn’t in the starting lineup. “Seemed like it was forever,” Curry said of finally getting into the game. “It was a good feeling.”

Durant was asked what Curry was like when he can’t play basketball.

“That’s a good question,” said Durant. “Very anxious. Couple days ago in practice, he couldn’t stop running and jumping and making weird noises. So I’m glad he’s back. I was a little worried about him for a second.”

S.F. Examiner: Forget the naysayers, the Warriors and Cavs deserve this

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

OAKLAND — It’s all yours, America: Warriors-Cavaliers III, The Trilogy, the inevitability. You don’t like it? Tough beans. Too late.

You should have kept Kawhi Leonard healthy (although that wouldn’t have made a difference), Kept Isaiah Thomas healthy (although that wouldn’t have made a difference, either).Or kept Kevin Durant in Oklahoma and LeBron James out of Cleveland.

Read the full story here.

©2017 The San Francisco Examiner

Durant gets his props and his points

By Art Spander

OAKLAND — The man was marveling about Kevin Durant’s brilliance. “He’s such a super efficient player,” was the observation. “He scores from all over the place. Watching a talent like that is just so special.”

As is the talent of the man talking, Stephen Curry.

They say only another athlete truly understands the skills and demands of a sport, the qualities that separate him or her from the rest. And so when Curry, who awes so many of us, himself is in awe — well, then we have a better idea of the level that Durant has reached.

And why the Warriors were so eager to sign him as a free agent, to join Curry and Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.

Yes, the Dubs won a ninth straight home game Wednesday night, defeating the “how did they stay so close for so long” Portland Trail Blazers (answer: C.J. McCollum), 125-117, at Oracle Arena.

The Blazers didn’t have Damian Lillard, the Oakland kid, out with a sore left ankle. And yet for a while there, late in the second quarter, Portland was in front by eight, mostly because McCollum, who scored 26 of his total 35 before halftime, couldn’t be stopped.

But as expected (yes, these Warrior games have a familiar theme), the Dubs found a way — “In the second half, our defense picked up,” said a satisfied coach Steve Kerr — and extended their league-best record to 31-5.

Curry, with 35 of his own, and Durant's 30 were a couple of the reasons. And Draymond, with 11 assists and nine points, despite missing minutes because of foul trouble, was another reason.

Kerr echoed Curry about Durant. Or maybe Curry echoed Kerr. Either way, both offered respect and high praise for a man who simply plays basketball as it is meant to be played, never forcing a shot or a pass but working within the system and with his teammates. 

“I thought Kevin was great,” Kerr said. “We had to change our rotation with Draymond’s foul trouble, so we played (Durant) the whole third quarter, which we normally don’t do. It was a typical Kevin night, some of everything. “

As in five rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals, along with the 30 points on 9-of-16 shooting.

“We are getting used to it,” added Kerr. “He’s such an efficient offensive player. Thirty points on 16 shots. He seems to do this every night.”

Efficient. Curry said the same thing, with an adjective. “Kevin is super efficient.”

At 6-foot-9, Durant is not the huge presence of a 7-foot Andrew Bogut, someone who was, in basketball lingo, a rim protector, someone who jammed up the middle. So the Warriors found a different method.

“It’s not as traditional as it has been the last couple of years with Festus (Ezeli, now with the Blazers) and Bogut,” said Kerr. “It’s more guard-oriented. But KD comes in here and blocks a lot of shots, and so does Draymond. We have a lot of long, rangy guys to challenge shots.”

They didn’t do much challenging of McCollum in the first half. He was 10 of 19. But after intermission, he was just 3-of-12. “Just got more physical,” said Kerr. “The first half I felt he was getting anywhere he wanted. In the second half, we ran him off routes. Just a little quicker and more alert.”

Curry, the NBA’s Most Valuable Player the past two seasons (Durant was the MVP three seasons ago) has been knocked of late either for not taking shots or missing them. On Wednesday night, he connected on a quick three-pointer but had only (only?) nine points playing the full 12 minutes of the opening quarter. Eventually he would go 12-of-25, if only 5-of-13 on three-point attempts.

“It was a little more aggressive game,” said Curry. “The way they defended, I got a lot of shots off the pick-and-roll. Still, obviously I missed some easy ones. So I need to continue to be aggressive.

“There was a purposeful kind of focus for us. We’re at home. We have to take care of home court.”

They’ve done it, with the help of Kevin Durant taking care of everything.

Curry calls his NBA record ‘pretty cool’

By Art Spander

OAKLAND — Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant combined for 46 points Monday night. Or the same as Stephen Curry scored by himself. The MVP indeed was shooting like an MVP.

After shooting, what, blanks? On Friday against the Lakers, he had a streak of 157 consecutive games with a three-pointer come to an inglorious end, going 0-for-10. On Monday, at Oracle Arena, he began a streak of one game with a three-pointer and, oh yes, made 13 of them overall, an NBA record, out of 17 attempts.

“This is a pretty cool,” said the very cool Curry. “To have the three-point record is really special, although it probably won’t last long the way the guys shoot these days.”

What didn’t last long was Curry’s shutout streak and, no less importantly, the Warriors one-game losing streak, Golden State defeating the stubborn New Orleans Pelicans 116-105. Since it was the Dubs ninth in a row over the Pelicans, you might add, as usual. If there’s anything usual in pro basketball.

Only a few days ago, people were questioning if the Dubs, the gang that couldn’t shoot straight, were ever going to make one from the outside, which over the last three seasons is what they always could do.

But if others panicked, Warriors coach Steve Kerr did not. Kerr hardly was pleased with the teamwork or defense, but as he reminded pre-game it was inevitable the ball would begin to go through the hoop. Shooters may lose their touch momentarily, but soon enough they’re successful.

Monday night was soon enough for the Warriors, who made 50 percent of their field goals (45 percent on threes). Curry was 16 of 26 (and only one of two on free throws). Klay was 11 of 20 with 24 points and Durant 8 of 17 with 22 points.

“You just have to keep shooting,” said Curry about lapses, “stick it out.”

“The ball’s going to go in.”

Kerr, certainly, expected that to occur. He was a shooter from long range on the Chicago Bulls of Michael Jordan. He may be impatient about sloppy play, but Kerr won’t complain about missed shots because he knows eventually the shots won’t miss.

“That was quite a show,” said Kerr of the Curry exhibition. “I’m not at all surprised.”

Nor is anyone in basketball.

Curry didn’t hit his first three until four and a half minutes were gone. But he had two more before the first quarter closed and was also three of four in the second quarter. “Pretty quickly I thought he was on,” said Kerr.

Four more threes in the third quarter and three more in the fourth gave him one more than the record of 12 three-pointers achieved by Curry himself, Donyell Marshall and Kobe Bryant.

“When he’s going off like that,” said teammate Draymond Green of Curry, “you don’t really have to try to find him. He’ll find a way to get a shot off. That’s for sure. But one thing about that, when he’s got it going you set screens. You’re usually the person who gets open because (the opponents) are so scared of him coming off a screen it starts a chain reaction and (starts) our ball movement.”

Alvin Gentry is the Pelicans' head coach. He used to be Kerr’s assistant on the Warriors. He knows Curry all too well.

“I think he’s a decent shooter,” was the Gentry tongue-in-cheek understatement of Curry. “The only mistake we made is we ran at him a few times and didn’t run him off the line ... If he would have had an average game, we would have had an opportunity to win.”

Average? Curry was average in the last game, not making a single three. Something was wrong. The correction was immediate.

“We let him go in the first quarter for the most part,” said Kerr. “He was really carrying us.”

Curry said he was down on himself after the Lakers mess. He practiced harder than usual coming into Monday night. “I wasn’t thinking about 0 for 10 tonight, really,” he said.

Now he and the Warriors can think about 46 points and 13 three-pointers. Much more satisfying.

S.F. Examiner: Curry Flurry buries the Thunder

By Art Spander
San Francisco Examiner

It was desperation. No matter the mantra from the Warriors. They had to win that game or they were finished. They couldn’t lose the first two at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder and expect to win this series, not to mention another NBA championship.

It was desperation, but then it was Steph. And in the end it was elation.

Read the full story here.

©2016 The San Francisco Examiner