Triple-double by KD leads Warriors.
He rises to occasion with triple-double to lead win without Curry, Green
CHARLOTTE, N.C. >> The trainer’s room suddenly became filled with the NBA’s best shooter and the NBA’s best defender. Fortunately for the Warriors, they still had one of the game’s best scorers.
Life without Stephen Curry and Draymond Green would cripple most franchises. But not every team has Kevin Durant, who only had to be himself to lift the Warriors to a 101-87 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday. He posted his ninth career triple-double with 35 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, and it did not even seem he needed to do anything differently than he already has done in his 10-year NBA career.
“It felt like I could go to my bag of tricks to pull some stuff out,” Durant said. “I don’t expect it to be like that every single game. But tonight I thought it called for it.”
The sequences seemingly played for a loop. Durant used his refined footwork and jab fakes to set himself up for open drives to
the basket and open shots in the post. He did the same thing to find open shots for teammates, including open jumpers for Klay Thompson (22 points), Nick Young (10 points), Andre Iguodala (eight points) and Quinn Cook (eight points)
“Clearly, he’s the best player on the floor and the dominant player on the floor,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Durant. “What he showed was without Steph in particular, KD almost had a different bounce to his step, like ‘I got it and this one is mine.’ He was brilliant.”
The Warriors (20-6) started 5-0 on a trip for the third time under Kerr, and the reasons went beyond Durant. The Warriors also held the Hornets (9-14) to 34 of 97 from the field (35.1 percent), while also scoring 24 fast-break points.
Meanwhile, Durant made a concerted effort to restrain himself from arguing with officials after getting ejected twice in the previous three games.
“A couple of times I felt like I could’ve gone over the edge with the refs, and I just kept my cool,” Durant said. “I think that was a step in the right direction. My teammates fed off of that just with my aggressiveness and trying to score and trying to make plays.
• The Warriors’ starting point guard will morph from a future Hall of Famer and one of the best shooters in NBA history toward a player that has mostly spent his time in the G-League.
With Curry sidelined, Cook started at point guard after mostly playing for the team’s G-League team in Santa Cruz. Cook had eight points and three assists in 22 minutes.
“Quinn was fantastic,” Kerr said. “I knew Quinn would play well. He’s an NBA player.”
Durant thought the same thing after growing up with him as friends in Washington D.C. He considered it a “dream come true” to play with Cook in the starting lineup.
“I know my role. I know the situation I’m in,” said Cook, who talked with Kerr and Warriors general manager Bob Myers before the season started. “When stuff goes on, you’ll never be overwhelmed in the role I’m in.”
• After having three days to calm his frustrations, Warriors reserve Shaun Livingston sounded contrite. He served a onegame suspension on Monday against New Orleans without pay, while official Courtney Kirkland received a one-week suspension for their roles in what the league called “an on-court altercation” during
the Warriors’ game on Sunday in Miami that led to Livingston’s ejection.
“It wasn’t something I was proud of,” Livingston said. “But at the end of the day, they made the ruling. We deal with it and move forward.”
Livingston did not take solace that the NBA punished Kirkland and determined he “moved toward” Livingston and “shared responsibility for the contact that occurred.” The two bumped heads before Kirkland gave Livingston a technical foul and immediately ejected him.
“It was clear it wasn’t just me,” Livingston said. “But at the same time, I wasn’t solely trying to point the finger. I was trying to look at myself and what I could have done better.”
• Center Zaza Pachulia only played 4 minutes, 31 seconds after feeling more soreness in his left shoulder, an injury that kept
him sidelined on Monday in New Orleans. It appears unlikely he will play on Friday in Detroit.
“We only have Andre Drummond on Friday,” Kerr joked. “So Zaza should be fine. That doesn’t pose a problem at all.”
• Assistant Stephen Silas coached the Hornets because head coach Steve Clifford is taking a leave from the team for undisclosed health-related issues. The 56-year-old Clifford also missed Monday night’s game against Orlando because he was not feeling well.
Clifford has battled heart problems in the past, but according to the The Associated Press the issue was not a heart-related. The team said there is no timetable for Clifford’s return and that officials would have no further comment.
“I just want to send him my best wishes,” Kerr said. “Obviously I have been through some issues, and I don’t know what his health issues are, but it’s no fun. I hope he gets back on the sideline soon. But more importantly I hope that he’s healthy.”