Warriors adjusting to life without Durant
LOS ANGELES — The Golden State Warriors showed they are finally adjusting to life without Kevin Durant after sweeping aside the Dallas Mavericks for a fifth straight victory on Tuesday.
Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry led the Warriors potent offense as the Western Conference leaders romped to a 112- 87 victory at American Airlines Center in Texas.
It was the latest win in Golden State’s recent run, after the team went off the boil in the immediate aftermath of Durant’s knee injury last month which jolted their season.
Durant traveled with the team to Texas for the first time since suffering the injury but is not expected to return anytime soon.
The Warriors instead looked to Thompson and Curry to do the damage once again.
Thompson led a balanced offense with 23 points, while Curry had 17 points and nine assists.
But it was the Warriors defensive display that left coach Steve Kerr a happy man.
The win saw the Warriors improve to 57-14 but it was a disappointing night for Curry’s elder brother Seth, who has excelled for the Mavs this season.
Dallas had begun brightly, draining six three- pointers in the first quarter to take a 30- 28 lead. But when Golden State upped the tempo, Dallas were helpless to respond.
The Warriors rattled off 34 points in the second quarter to open a commanding 62-50 lead.
A 7-0 run at the start of the third quarter effectively sealed the contest’s outcome, leaving only the margin of victory up in the air.
The Warriors preserved their 20-point lead heading into the final quarter and coasted to victory.
Ian Clark finished with 18 points from the bench for the Warriors while Patrick McCaw had 10.
Dallas, who fell to 30- 40, saw Dirk Nowitzki lead their scoring with 16 points and nine rebounds. Nerlens Noel had 14 points and seven boards.
Seth Curry’s evening finished with a disappointing 10 points, making just four of 12 attempts.
RAPTORS GORE BULLS
DeMar DeRozan crowned a 42-point display with a crucial overtime basket as the Toronto Raptors came from behind to down the Chicago Bulls, 122-120, in a bruising battle on Tuesday.
DeRozan’s masterclass saw Toronto end an 11-game losing streak in matches against the Bulls, which has included two losses already this season.
A stormy clash saw Chicago’s Robin Lopez and Toronto’s Serge Ibaka both be ejected during the third quarter after a brawl erupted.
Lopez finished the game with 12 points while Ibaka had 16 points before the dismissals.
Lopez and Ibaka later played down the exchange of blows that led to their ejections.
The Bulls, who fell to 33- 38, looked to be on course for an important victory after opening up a 15-point advantage at the close of the third quarter.
But the Raptors mounted a superb fourth quarter comeback with Cory Joseph cutting the lead to four points with two free throws with 3:27 left.
Fred VanVleet cut the lead to two points with a layup as the home crowd roared the Raptors on.
The game went to overtime with the scores locked at 113-113 before DeRozan hit a jumper to help Toronto into a 117-115 lead.
Butler’s three-pointer set up a nervous finish with 2.8 seconds left but Toronto held on. —