‘Sloppy’ effort is more than enough vs. Phoenix
PHOENIX >> The Warriors finished with a 117-107 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Friday, marking the 14th win out of the past 15 games, 12th consecutive road win and 18th straight against Phoenix. Unlike the Warriors’ previous stretch, however, this did not represent their best effort.
The Warriors played sloppy (18 turnovers). They lacked consistent focus (60 points in the paint allowed). Although Klay Thompson (25 points), Kevin Durant (21), Stephen
Curry (20), DeMarcus Cousins (18) and Draymond Green (13) all scored in double figures for the first time all season, Curry only went 6-of-17 from the field and 3-of-11 from 3.
The Warriors (39-15) exhausted their margin for error against a Suns team (11-46) that has the Western Conference’s worst record and played without star Devin Booker because of right hamstring tightness.
Meanwhile, the Warriors became upset with the officiating. Green was ejected at the end of the third quarter after expressing his displeasure with an official for not punishing Suns forward Kelly Oubre Jr. for nearly head-butting him after converting on a putback. Green, Cousins and Shaun Livingston also collected three other technicals.
The Warriors eventually broke the game open in the final quar-
the game open in the final quarter. After trailing 8582 through three quarters, the Warriors opened the fourth with a 16-9 run. Cousins logged a seasonhigh 27 minutes.
The Warriors have three more games — against Miami (Sunday), Utah (Tuesday) and at Portland (Wednesday) — before NBA All-Star weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina. KERR WEIGHS IN ON DURANT >> Steve Kerr had a fitting description for the situation surrounding Kevin Durant and his looming free agency.
“We’re all actors in a soap opera,” Kerr said following the morning shootaround at Arizona State University.
Durant spoke to the Bay Area media Wednesday night for the first time in eight days. It was a tense three-minute exchange, with Durant doing most of the talking and then abruptly ending the session. “Blowing off some steam,” is how Kerr described it.
“You guys would agree he’s been good with the media and a great teammate,” Kerr said of Durant. “There’s moments of frustration and times in our life where we don’t feel like talking or frustrated about something. You just give him a pass.”
Kerr considered the questions and coverage regarding free agency in the middle of the season as “the modern NBA.”
Star players, including Durant, have recently signed one-year contracts to maximize their flexibility and leverage. The other edge of the sword is what is happening with Durant and the distraction it
might bring.
“Everything has to be funnelled into winning a championship. I know KD is committed to that mission, and everyone else on the team is as well,” Steph Curry said. “No distraction. Nothing is going to derail our focus. I’m proud of the way our whole team has handled this whole season. There’s a lot that’s been going on.”
ASSESSING THE DEADLINE DEALS >> Leading into Thursday’s trade deadline, 16 of the league’s 20 deals happened on the last day. Three Eastern Conference contenders — Toronto, Milwaukee and Philadelphia — bolstered their rosters in hopes of taking down the Warriors.
“It’s about as wild a day as I can ever remember, trade-deadline wise,” said Kerr, who has been around the NBA in some capacity for 30 years. “There are always a handful of deals. But I don’t remember anything like that.”
Meanwhile, the Warriors stood pat for the fifth consecutive year.
“We’re very comfortable with the guys on our roster,” Kerr said. “We still have our 15th roster spot. So we can still add somebody.”
Kerr was asked to assess the best deal of the bunch.
“That’s my last job,” he said, referring to his time as a broadcaster for TNT.