Warriors await word on return of top defender Iguodala as LeBron looms

OAKLAND, Calif. — Klay Thompson sat on the floor in the middle of his teammates and pointed to his “2018 NBA FINALS” hat during a locker-room photo.

An important face was missing from the moment: Andre Iguodala.

In a postseason defined by uncertainty for the defending champions, Golden State could be without one of its top defenders as the Warriors chase a repeat title — taking on LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in a fourth straight NBA Finals matchup.


Iguodala’s status for Game 1 on Thursday night is a question as he recovers from a bone bruise in his left knee, which caused him to miss the final four games of the Western Conference finals against Houston. Cleveland’s Kevin Love is in concussion protocol, so he might not be ready, either.

Coach Steve Kerr has said Iguodala, the 2015 Finals MVP, will return when he can run without pain. The Warriors sure could use his presence against King James, who is making an eighth straight Finals appearance.

“We’re still without Andre, which is a big blow for us,” Kerr said before Monday’s Game 7 at Houston. “In a different way. He’s not a scorer for us as Chris (Paul) is for Houston, but a huge component. So you go through the playoffs and things happen, and you’ve got to be able to bounce back no matter what and keep going.”

Last month, Kerr became concerned his team’s defense wouldn’t return to its top form after Golden State struggled late in the regular season and even endured a particularly poor stretch in which the Warriors dropped seven of 10 games.

Yet here they are in a familiar spring spot as June approaches.

Once the buzzer sounded and the 101-92 Game 7 win over Houston was official, the Warriors could exhale. It hasn’t been pretty for much of these playoffs, a far cry from that remarkable, record-breaking 16-1 romp through last year’s postseason.

There is clearly some relief to be back where this All-Star group expected to be all along.

Stephen Curry kept the game ball tucked under his left arm long after Monday’s game, toddler daughter Ryan held in his right arm.


Kevin Durant hugged general manager Bob Myers, while always-animated Nick Young beamed wearing his Finals hat and “Champions of the West” T-shirt, then enjoyed hoisting the shiny trophy.

Draymond Green smooched his 1-year-old son, Draymond Jr.

Back home, fireworks went off in the East Bay as everyone anticipates another battle with King James.

“There’s a lot of just built-up anxiety, I guess, about this moment. When you walk off the court with a win and get this fancy hat, it’s a good feeling,” Curry said. “We had to work for it, and you’ve got to appreciate the moment. Somebody asked, ‘It’s four years in a row getting to The Finals, do you appreciate it?’ Yes, because it’s really hard. So all the smiles and embraces you have with your teammates, your coaches, it’s well deserved.”

Golden State struggled to hit shots for stretches. The stars went through funks and the Warriors had to play catch up time and again — including from double-digit deficits in the final two games to beat James Harden and the 65-win Rockets on their home court after settling for the second seed in the West.

James has willed his Cavs this far, saying, “I don’t know how I can compare it to other seasons because I can only think about this one in the present.”

“Definitely a different team but we know everything goes and stops with LeBron James with them,” Green said.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Golden State’s Iguodala still struggling with bruised knee

HOUSTON — Andre Iguodala’s bruised left knee improved Wednesday, but he was still listed as questionable for the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals against the Houston Rockets on Thursday night.

Iguodala missed Tuesday night’s game after banging his left knee in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game. Kerr says: “He’s feeling a little better today. He’s out on the floor, not doing a whole lot but making progress.”

Houston got a 95-92 win in Game 4 on Tuesday to even the series at 2-2 heading in Thursday’s game.

Klay Thompson is also listed as questionable after straining his left knee Tuesday night. But Kerr said that Thompson was “moving around really well” on Wednesday and that he thought he’d be fine.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Thompson scores 21 in 1st, Warriors roll past Magic

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA—A tighter defense that gave Orlando trouble all night and another early scoring outburst from Klay Thompson have the Warriors feeling a lot better about their position in the West.

A much-welcomed blowout of the Magic certainly helped, too, especially following three weeks of inconsistencies and a handful of surprising losses.

Thompson scored 21 of his 29 points in the first quarter and the Golden State cruised past the Orlando Magic 122-92 on Thursday night.

“To have a game like that always helps, not confidence-wise but just to kind of try and get back in a rhythm,” said Green, who had nine points and 11 rebounds. “I don’t think this game really just puts us back in a rhythm, but it was a carryover from the last game’s fourth quarter. It was just using that momentum and letting it carry over.”

Stephen Curry added 25 points and nine assists after appearing to injure his right foot in the opening minutes, Andre Iguodala scored 14 and Zaza Pachulia had 10 points and 10 rebounds to help the Warriors improve to an NBA-best 54-14 and clinch their third straight Pacific Division title for the first time in franchise history.

Thompson, who owns the NBA record for most points in one quarter with 37 against Sacramento on Jan. 23, 2015, was almost perfect in the opening period against Orlando. The three-time All-Star made his first five shots beyond the arc and shot 8 of 11 overall while helping the Warriors to an early double-digit lead.

By comparison, the entire Magic team made only nine buckets in the first quarter.

“We were able to get out in transition just from our stops,” Thompson said. “It definitely helps when you make four or five in a row. You feel like every shot’s going to go in.”

It’s the seventh time in his career that Thompson has scored 20 or more in a single quarter and the third time this season. The other two came when Thompson had 23 points in the second and 20 in the third on his way to an NBA season-high 60 points against Indiana on Dec. 5.

“The defense really was kind of setting up some of those shots, too, in transition,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “When you can make stops it solves a lot of problems. We’ve struggled to score the last couple of weeks. Tonight, we broke through.”

Thompson’s fast start began not long after Curry limped off the court and into the Warriors’ locker room early in the first quarter after he stepped on the foot of Elfrid Payton.

The reigning two-time MVP returned a short time later and was greeted by a rousing ovation from the Oracle crowd. Curry then promptly threw an inbounds pass to Thompson for an easy bucket that put the Warriors up by double digits.

“Tweaked his ankle,” Kerr said. “He’s fine.”

Payton and Jeff Green scored 13 points apiece for Orlando.

“When Klay got hot, it was a bit deflating,” Magic center Nikola Vucevic said. “Once they get a lead like that, they’re too good. We were never able to make it a game again.”

Golden State’s win was its second straight following a season-high three-game skid and evened its record at 4-4 since losing Kevin Durant to a knee injury in late-February.

Unlike the other three wins – all decided by eight points or fewer -Kerr’s team had little problem beating Orlando and sending the Magic to their fourth straight loss.

The Warriors led by 36 in the second half, allowing Kerr to sit most of his starters in the fourth quarter, and finished with their most lopsided win since beating Chicago by 31 on Feb. 8.

It’s not a common occurrence in the NBA, but Orlando was called for a technical foul for having six men on the court in the second quarter. Magic coach Frank Vogel blamed a lack of communication. “We didn’t communicate a sub,” Vogel said.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Slow-starting Warriors catch fire to storm past Bulls

The Golden State Warriors took a few minutes to warm up but they eventually caught fire and rolled to a 125-94 thumping of the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on Wednesday.

Stephen Curry had 25 points, Klay Thompson 20 and Harrison Barnes finished with 19 to lead the Warriors (39-4), who also got double-digit bench scoring from Andre Iguodala (10 points), Leandro Barbosa (12) and Shaun Livingston (12).

Derrick Rose led all scorers with 29 points and Jimmy Butler added 23 points for the Bulls (24-17), who were swept by Golden State in the two-game season series.

Chicago got double-digit scoring off the bench from rookie forward Bobby Portis (16 points) and guard E'Twaun Moore (13).

The Warriors trailed through the game's first four minutes, but unfurled an 11-4 run to seize the lead and never trailed again.

Rose hit five of his first six shots and scored 10 of the Bulls' first 12 points to start the game. Golden State, however, took advantage of Chicago coach Fred Hoiberg's decision to sit Rose with 6:12 left in the first.

Without Rose on the floor, the Warriors out-scored the Bulls 21-6 the rest of the quarter to lead 34-18 starting the second. Curry, who played all 12 minutes in the first, led the way with 10 points and six assists.

Golden State, which got points from all 13 players who dressed, continued its dominance in the second.

The Warriors used their advantage in scoring depth to push the lead to 63-44 at halftime, despite Rose running his points tally to 21 on 10-of-15 shooting.

Rose's big night was not nearly enough, however, and Butler found his range too late.

Butler scored 10 points in a 12-4 run to start the third, pulling Chicago within 67-56 with 6:13 left in the quarter but the Warriors responded with five straight points to spark a 17-5 run.

Barnes and Curry hit back-to-back three-pointers in the surge, and the latter put an exclamation point on the quarter with a dunk to complete the scoring. — Reuters

Lack of experience proves no problem for champion Warriors

CLEVELAND - The NBA champion Golden State Warriors proved on Tuesday that an age-old mantra -- you have to learn to lose before you can win -- doesn't apply to them.

The inexperienced Warriors beat a LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers team to win the championship despite a roster that did not include one player with any NBA Finals experience.

Golden State are the first team to win a title behind a roster without any previous Finals experience since the 1991 Chicago Bulls. And Steve Kerr is the first rookie coach to win an NBA title since the Los Angeles Lakers' Pat Riley in 1982.

"Every year is so different," Kerr told reporters. "A lot is based on matchups and injuries and maybe a little good fortune. We had good fortune with our health most of the year, and that was big."

The championship series had plenty of sub-plots, including reigning league Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry up against two-time champion James as well as it being a clash of franchises looking to end decades-long title droughts.

But the best-of-seven series was also one of inexperience versus experience, and in the pressure-cooker environment that is the NBA playoffs, the latter tends to prevail.

The Warriors, however, displayed the demeanor of a team that competed on the game's biggest stage several times before, bending at times but refusing to break en route to capturing the Oakland-based franchise's first NBA title since 1975.

"We have a lot of different personalities ... but the common denominator is guys were like really hungry to show what they can do individually," said NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Andre Iguodala.

"When you get all those guys together and say we're going to do it together as a team, that's an awesome formula for what we put together tonight, and that is a championship."

After splitting the first two games of the championship series on their home court, the Warriors went to Cleveland and promptly fell behind in the series 2-1 as their usual potent offense lost its punch.

Kerr made a bold change to his lineup for Game Four when he gave Iguodala his first start of the season.

The steely veteran led the way in a pivotal victory that reinvigorated the deadly run-and-gun offense that had defined the Warriors all season.

Led by sharp-shooting guard Curry, the Warriors dominated the regular season and were barely tested as they captured a league-best 67 wins out of 82 games.

By comparison, the Cavaliers were an exhausted and banged-up team in the Finals but they were led the whole way by James, one of the most polarizing figures in NBA history.

Even James had to lose before he won, having fallen short in his first trip to the NBA Finals with Cleveland in 2007, where they lasted a minimum four games to a veteran San Antonio team.

James finally won a championship in 2012 after joining a Miami Heat team stocked with talent.

The Warriors' road to the Finals was made somewhat easier after the 2014 champion San Antonio Spurs, a potential opponent in the Western Conference finals, lost in the opening round of the playoffs, while Cleveland were without their second and third-best players.

"Things went our way, but we took advantage of that. Every year that's the case. A team fails, a team soars, there's injuries, bounce of the ball, whatever," said Kerr.

"In the end, none of it matters. The only thing that matters is that we got the job done."  — Reuters