McGee late 3 try leads to friction
For a game in which they did not trail, the Warriors’ 139-115 win Sunday night over the Wizards ended in dramatic fashion.
With Golden State up 22 points with 6.9 seconds left, center JaVale McGee hoisted a threepointer from the corner. Washington point guard Brandon Jennings, upset with what he viewed as an attempt to embarrass his team, shoved McGee on the shot and earned a flagrant-1 foul.
“It was very disrespectful,” Jennings said of McGee’s three-point attempt, which came with 4.8 seconds left on the shot clock. “Thank God he didn't go to the rack, it probably would have been worse for him. But any time like that, I think you should let the clock run out.”
McGee disagreed, explaining that he wanted to avoid the turnover by getting off a shot before the 24-second clock expired. Still, he reckoned that he was happy Jennings fouled him. It overshadowed the fact that McGee had air-balled the three-point try.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told McGee after the game that he probably should have attempted a two-pointer instead. Shortly after the final buzzer sounded, Kerr apologized to Washington head coach Scott Brooks, who called a full timeout with six seconds left after McGee hit two of his free throws, despite the Warriors’ 24-point lead.
“I know (Brooks) wasn’t happy,” Kerr said. “There was absolutely no offense on our part. We weren’t trying to pour it on or offend anybody. I think JaVale just knew there was a shot-clock differential, but taking a three is not the right thing to do.” Durant update: Kevin Durant immediately will slide back into the starting lineup when he returns from his knee injury, though he will be on a minutes restriction his first few games.
Durant, who has missed 17 games with a sprained medial collateral ligament and tibial bone bruise to his left knee, will be re-evaluated in three to six days. Kerr said that Durant has been ruled out for Golden State’s next two games, meaning the soonest he could return is Saturday against New Orleans.
That would give Durant three games to ease into his usual workload before the playoffs. During his pregame warmups Sunday, Durant was seen hoisting jumpers and slashing through the key for a one-handed dunk.
“I’m not too worried about incorporating him, because he’s been with us all season,” Kerr said. “He fit right in, right from the beginning. Whenever he gets back, we’ll plug him right in there and watch his minutes. That’s the main thing. Just watching him physically. I’m not worried about incorporating him into all of our schemes and that stuff.”
The Warriors are 13-4 since Durant’s injury, including a current 11game winning streak. Mission honored: The Mission High School boys basketball team, which became the first San Francisco public school to win a state title last month, was recognized at Sunday’s game for its achievement.