Star power:
Curry, Durant combine for 74 points in victory.
The Warriors can print all the “Strength in Numbers” T-shirts they want. They can extol the virtues of their depth and their share-the-ball offense. They can channel Jim Harbaugh’s mantra of “the team, the team, the team.”
Sometimes, they simply need their scorers — the MVPs, the big shots — to take control.
That’s what happened Sunday, essentially, when Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant carried the Warriors to a riveting comeback victory over San Antonio in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. Curry (40) and Durant (34) combined for 74 points, propelling their team to a 113-111 win.
“Without those guys, we wouldn’t have been in the position we were in to make big plays down the stretch,” guard Shaun Livingston said. “You see the star power they have and what it brings to the team. You’re never out of a game with those guys.”
Curry struggled in the first half, as his team did. He had trouble getting to the rim against the Spurs and their collection of tall, long-armed defenders; more than once, Curry’s acrobatic layup attempts were rudely rejected.
And it took time for him to find his customary touch from long range. Curry was 0-for-3 beyond the arc in the first quarter, when he scored only four points. Over the final three quarters, he scored 36 points and was 7-for-13 on threes.
Durant, similarly, didn’t get going right away. He had five points in the first quarter and 29 thereafter, repeatedly taking the ball to the basket with his long, space-eating strides.
More than anything, Curry and Durant knew they needed to shoulder a heavier load, given Golden State’s 25-point second-quarter deficit.
“Our identity is predicated on the collective: ball movement, player movement, use of everybody’s talents on the floor to create great shots. But if you have situations when there isn’t any flow and you have to make plays, that’s what we are expected to do,” Curry said of himself and Durant.
“We have confidence to do it ourselves, and you’ve got to be ready for those moments when they arrive. You can’t shy away from it. That was big today, for us two to get going. But we can’t do what we do without whoever is out there doing their jobs as well,” he said.
This game offered a vivid illustration of why the Warriors coveted Durant in free agency last summer. Curry, for all his wondrous skills, can’t always create his own shot. That’s the price of being 6foot-3 in a league of giants.
Durant, listed at 6-9 but certainly taller, is one of those giants — with mobility and shooting touch to boot. He can get his shot nearly anytime he wants, as he did Sunday.
“This time of year is when you really see what KD brings to the table,” Livingston said. “Sometimes, it’s as easy as getting him the ball and getting the hell out the way.”
Durant scored 10 consecutive points for the Warriors during one fourth-quarter stretch: three-pointer, dunk, three-pointer, two-pointer. That trimmed their deficit from 94-85 to 98-95 with 5:41 left, setting the stage for the final surge.
“The thing we like more than anything else is KD’s ability to attack the rim, not just in the halfcourt but also in transition,” acting head coach Mike Brown said. “We need that from him. … The more aggressive he is, the better we are.”
“We have confidence to do it ourselves, and you’ve got to be ready for those moments when they arrive.” Stephen Curry, Warriors guard, on teaming with Kevin Durant