Warriors find a bit of normalcy, rout Suns.
His near triple-double is spark in victory over Suns
OAKLAND >> A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, Warriors forward Kevin Durant developed a reputation as solely a scorer.
He has since disproven that in recent seasons by offering a blend of rebounding, passing and defense. So on the same night the Warriors hosted a Star Wars themed night, Durant provided yet another case study on why he remains the most critical star as Stephen Curry stays sidelined with an MCL tear in his left knee.
In the Warriors’ 117-107 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday at Oracle Arena, Durant nearly posted a triple double with 29 points, 11 rebounds and
eight assists. The Warriors (56-21) featured many contributors, including Klay Thompson (23 points), Quinn Cook (19) and Draymond Green (13 points, 12 assists, six rebounds). Yet, Durant’s force provided a trickle-down effect elsewhere against the Suns (19-58), which have lost 15 consecutive games.
“He’s a really gifted player,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Durant. “He can adapt to anything he sees.”
So with the Warriors playing without Curry for the fifth consecutive game,
Durant took control of the offense with ball handling and shooting while still staying efficient from the field (12-of-19) and from 3-point range (3-of6). When the Warriors cut the Suns’ lead to 59-58 at halftime after going on a 14-5 run, Durant dished out three assists. As the Warriors cemented a 7569 lead with 5:46 left in the third quarter, Durant opened the second half by setting Thompson up for an open 3-pointer, Kevon Looney for an easy dunk and Green for a layup. Durant then closed out the third quarter with five more points.
“He has a great mind for the game. He sees things two or three plays ahead,” Cook said. “He sees how coverages and other teams are defending him and myself everybody and how to defend a ball screen. He always makes the right basketball play. He always makes the game so much easier for everybody.”
Durant said, “I feel pretty good” in his third game since missing the previous six with a rib injury. Durant had a false start when he returned last Thursday against Indiana and was ejected before halftime for arguing foul calls. In the Warriors’ win on Saturday in Sacramento, however, Durant scored 22 points on efficient shooting from the field (9-of-11), from 3-point range (2-of-5) and freethrow shooting (9-of-11) while adding 10 rebounds and five assists.
Yet, Durant still cannot help but scrutinize himself.
While Kerr attributed the team’s slow start to
Phoenix because of “an emotional night” on Saturday in Sacramento because of a spine injury to second-year guard Patrick McCaw, Durant argued his turnover in the second play of the game set the tone. After revealing this season he wanted to reach the so-called “50-40-90” club, Durant faulted himself for his foul shooting (88.5 percent) instead of praising himself for his 3-point shooting (42.9 percent) or field-goal percentage (51.9
percent).
“I’m definitely disappointed in myself in the free throws this year. I’m already thinking about how to be better throughout the rest of the season,” Durant said. “But next year I can start off better, and that can get me some confidence going down the line. But I just want to feel good with my shot. My 3-pointers are feeling solid. I want to continue putting the work in. I want to be in a good rhythm.”
Durant had plenty of chances to build a rhythm this season without Curry.
The Warriors went 9-2 without Curry when he missed 11 games in December after initially spraining his right ankle. It has become ingrained in Durant’s mind on how to play accordingly. Then, Durant averaged 28.8 points on 46.5 percent shooting, 8.63 rebounds and 6.27 assists. When Curry missed six more games this month with another right ankle injury, Durant averaged 35 points on 45.3 percent shooting, 7.3 rebounds and 4.66 assists in the first three games before suffering his rib injury on March 14 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Yet, Durant said he has found no reason to watch tape of any of those games so he can adjust more to life without Curry. Kerr found little correlation in that season-long experience helping Durant’s current effectiveness.
“Kevin is going to be Kevin no matter what. The thing with him he has much ability as anybody, pretty much anybody ever in the history of the game,” Kerr said. “This guy is so talented. You put him out there with Steph, great. You put him there without Steph, he’s still going to get any shot he wants and dominate a game.”
• Warriors forward Andre Iguodola missed the past two games because of a sprained left knee, and could also miss Tuesday’s game in Oklahoma City. Warriors guard Omri Casspi also sat for the eighth consecutive game because of a sprained right ankle. Kerr planned to sit veteran Shaun Livingston for rest purposes on Sunday, but decided otherwise because of a lumbar spinal contusion.