Warriors look to build off strong first round
OAKLAND, Calif. — Kevin Durant drove coast-to-coast just before halftime for a monster two-handed slam.
Klay Thompson swished a turnaround fadeaway as the halftime buzzer sounded and scurried for the tunnel hands raised high in triumph. Stephen Curry, in street clothes, hopped up and down on his injured left knee celebrating wildly with his Splash Brother.
Draymond Green pounded the glass at every chance for another spectacular rebounding night.
The defending champions are back, all right. They are rolling. And Curry could be close to putting on a uniform again.
“I hope, but I’m not going to expect it because I don’t want to get my hopes up and not have them fulfilled,” Thompson said. “If he doesn’t play, we’re prepared. If he does play, hallelujah.”
Golden State has endured barely a blip so far, losing only Game 4 of its first-round series against San Antonio before closing out the Spurs with Tuesday night’s 99-91 victory.
They will open the best-ofseven Western Conference semifinals against New Orleans in Saturday’s Game 1 at Oracle Arena. Former Warriors top assistant Alvin Gentry coaches the Pelicans.
“Well, fortunately, Alvin Gentry really doesn’t know what he’s doing,” coach Steve Kerr cracked. “That’s a joke.”
For weeks ahead of the playoffs, the Warriors hardly looked like the super team that dominated through last year’s postseason. Yet Kerr and his players insisted all along they would find another level and groove when the stage got bigger in April — and they were spot on in those sentiments. The defense has been stellar. And the Warriors could be at full strength again soon, with Curry ready to lead the show once he’s healthy from a sprained medial collateral ligament.
The three other All-Stars and a cast of reliable role players have handled things beautifully without him.
“We’re a championship team. We know what type of defense we need to play,” Green said. “I think throughout the regular season, you want to get there every night, but it’s just not realistic, especially coming off a championship.”
Raptors 108,
Wizards 98
TORONTO — DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points, Kyle Lowry had 17 points and 10 assists and the Toronto Raptors beat the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night in Game 5 of the first-round series.
Toronto rebounded after losing Games 3 and 4 in Washington to take a 3-2 series lead back to Washington for Game 6 on Friday night.
The only team in the NBA to avoid a three-game losing streak this season, the Raptors went 5-0 following backto-back losses during the regular season, and have not lost three straight since last year’s second-round sweep against Cleveland. The last time Toronto lost three regular season games in a row was from Feb 8 to 14, 2017.
Delon Wright scored 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, and Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and 13 rebounds as the Raptors improved to 5-0 in home Game 5s over the past five years.
John Wall had 26 points, and Bradley Beal added 20 for the Wizards. They went nearly four minutes without scoring down the stretch. Marcin Gortat had 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Washington shot 8 for 24 (Best-of-7; x-if necessary) All times Eastern
Toronto 108, Washington 98 (Toronto leads series 3-2) Cleveland 98, Indiana 95 (Cleveland leads series 3-2) Minnesota at Houston, late Utah at Oklahoma City, late
Boston at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
TorontoatWashington,TBD Cleveland at Indiana, TBD x-Houston at Minnesota, 9:30 p.m. x-Oklahoma City at Utah, 10:30 p.m.
in the fourth quarter, and Toronto had 15 rebounds in the final frame.
The Raptors won despite being out rebounded 50-35.
Toronto trailed 87-82 after a three-point play by Kelly Oubre Jr. with 8:52 left, but regained the lead with a 6-0 run over the next 1:20.
After Washington’s Markieff Morris dunked with 4:06 left, Wright replied with a 3 and, after a missed shot by Wall, converted a layup off a pass from DeRozan to give the Raptors a 99-93 lead with 2:59 remaining.
Washington didn’t score again until Beal’s 3 with 16 seconds left.
Before the game, players from both teams held up banners with the hashtag #TORONTOSTRONG and a moment of silence was held to honor the victims of the deadly van attack Monday in Toronto. The Raptors, the Wizards and the NBA will make a donation to a fund for victims and those affected by the incident.