Warriors Worthy Minus Curry
Thompson Scores 38 and Iguodala 20 as Curry-less Warriors Improve to 30-2.
The Golden State Warriors capped a monumental 2015 with one of their most rewarding regular season victories of the year, picking up a 114-110 road win over the Houston Rockets on Thursday on the back end of a back-to-back. The Dubs bounced back from Wednesday’s disappointing defeat in a major way, and leading the way were some standout efforts up and down the roster.
Playing once again without Stephen Curry, Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli, the Warriors came together and played some brilliant team ball that resulted in 35 assists on 43 made baskets. Leading the way in the helper category was Draymond Green. The do-it-all forward had perhaps his signature game of the season, posting his NBA-leading fifth triple-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 16 assists.
Green’s final assist may have been the biggest play of the game. With the Rockets chipping away at what was a 12-point Warriors lead with 8:57 left in the fourth quarter, the versatile forward pulled down a rebound and passed the length of the court to a streaking Andre Iguodala, who finished with the easy layup. The shot put the Warriors back up by five, and it concluded a nearly two-and-a-half-minute stretch without a made bucket for the Dubs.
Iguodala scored seven of his 20 points in the final quarter, and Klay Thompson knocked down several key buckets to finish with a game-high 38 points. Shaun Livingston added 13 points and seven assists, Ian Clark came through with 12 points off the bench and Andrew Bogut battled foul trouble but still made his impact felt with nine points and 11 rebounds.
The 30th win of the season was made possible with a first quarter statement and another game-changing rally in the third period.
The Warriors shot 66.7 percent in the first quarter, and Thompson highlighted the pinpoint accuracy by making seven straight shots, including a trio of 3-pointers, for 17 points. From there, the game would go back and forth with nine ties and three lead changes, the last of which came during a 10-0 run late in the third quarter that was capped by a James Michael McAdoo steal and slam.
After closing the curtain on a year that saw the Warriors win an NBA Championship and get off to the best start to a season in league history, the Dubs will look to build upon that success when they host the Nuggets on Saturday in their first game of 2016.
Read more at: Golden State Warriors Media Services / More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
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