Assists spark artistic victory
ORLANDO — When at their best, the Warriors are basketball impressionists.
Their artistic style is freeflowing and imaginative. With an emphasis on making the extra pass without slowing down, Golden State exhibits teamwork in a way James Naismith could only hope to see.
In their 133-112 win Friday night over the Magic at Amway Center, the Warriors delighted basketball purists with one of the most fundamental aspects of the game: finding the open man. Golden State rang up an NBA season-high 46 assists, just one shy of its franchise record.
It shot 62.5 percent from the field, including a 12-for-24 effort from three-point range, and made all 11 of its free throws. Though the Warriors’ defense lagged much of the game, the team didn’t trail on a night it posted season highs for points in a first quarter (41) and a first half (78).
“Forty-six assists is insane,” Golden State head coach Steve
Kerr said. “If we can just play with that kind of energy, with a little better judgment, and a little better defense, then we’re on to something. But this is a good step in the right direction.”
The Warriors have spearheaded the NBA’s transition from a lumbering, blunt-force playing style to something more aesthetically pleasing, an egalitarian approach that prioritizes ball movement. Unlike previous Golden State regimes, which relied on one-on-one isolation plays and back-to-the-basket centers, Kerr’s team tries to spread the floor and be in constant motion.
The best shot is the highestpercentage shot. In handing Orlando its 10th loss in 11 games, the Warriors had six players — Klay Thompson (27 points), Kevin Durant (25), Stephen Curry (23), Jordan Bell (16), Draymond Green (12) and Omri Casspi (11) — score in double digits. Curry and Green chipped in 10 assists apiece, while Durant added seven before getting ejected with less than five minutes left for jawing with officials.
“Everybody came in and made plays tonight,” Durant said. “We moved around well without the ball, all of us.”
Before Kerr became head coach in 2014, the Warriors subsisted on dribble penetration. Now the extra pass, even more than the three-pointer, fuels Golden State.
Two seasons ago, the Warriors had 490 more assists than Oklahoma City, the second highestscoring team in the league. Last season, after adding the seemingly ball-dominant Durant, Golden State averaged 30.4 assists per game — good enough for third in NBA history behind only the 1984-85 Lakers (31.4) and the 1978-79 Bucks (31.2).
The Warriors touched down in Orlando averaging 30.1 assists, 4.1 more than any other team. Until Friday, however, they hadn’t dished out 40 assists in a game this season.
Golden State recorded assists on 83.6 percent of its field goals. For the second time in franchise history and the first since 1982, it tallied at least 40 assists on the road. The Warriors’ 46 helpers were the second-most in franchise history, behind the 47 they notched in November 2016 against the Lakers.
Such precision was a welcome sight for a team that has struggled with inattention much of the season. After collapsing down the stretch in Monday’s loss to Sacramento, Golden State needed overtime Wednesday to hold off a young Lakers club.
Now, the Warriors hope to maintain their impressionist ways as they head to Miami for the front end of a back-to-back set against the Heat and Pelicans.
“I’ve probably been talking too much about the grind of the season and all that, instead of just reminding them to just go out and play and enjoy it,” Kerr said. “There’s no guarantees about tomorrow on many levels. So, just go out and play and enjoy the night.”