Shooting stars a little off-target

OAKLAND, California — Kevin Durant drove through the paint for a quick onehanded slam.

Stephen Curry dazzled with his dribbling and pulled up for quick 3-pointers that weren’t quite as accurate as usual.

Even in Saturday’s 108-102 preseason loss to the Denver Nuggets, the Golden State Warriors still looked like the dominant team they were in winning the NBA championship just four months ago,

The Warriors have 12 players returning, including all five starters. But they don’t have their shooting touch yet, going 4 of 33 from deep. Their four All-Stars were a dismal 1 for 19.

NBA Finals MVP Durant scored 10 points in nearly 24 minutes, while Curry had 11 in the NBA’s preseason opener.

Later on Saturday, Lonzo Ball made his highly anticipated LA Lakers debut in Anaheim against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Ball finished with 7 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists as the Lakers lost 108-99.

Warriors and Nuggets players stood through the national anthem, a week after President Donald Trump rescinded his White House invitation to Curry and his team. Warriors coach Steve Kerr indicated before the game he didn’t expect any kind of protest.

“It wasn’t a discussion or a decision,” Draymond Green said. “We said what we had to say. Everybody knows where we stand. We don’t need to do anything else to show where we stand. Everyone knows where we stand.”

Lakers and Wolves players stood with arms locked during the anthem.

Paul Millsap had 22 points and 11 rebounds in his first game for Denver. Nikola Jokic added 12 points and six rebounds, making seven of 10 free throws. Emmanuel Mudiay had 19 points and six assists off the bench.

Kerr only planned to use his starters 20-25 minutes with an international trip ahead. The Warriors were set to leave on Sunday for China, where they will play a pair of preseason games against Minnesota.

Golden State played a September game for the first time since facing Portland on Sept 30, 1980, in Seattle.

This marks the Warriors’ third trip to China after playing there previously in 2008 against Milwaukee and in 2013 against the Lakers.