Golden State Warriors were able to complete their seven-game homestand with a big win over the Brooklyn Nets Saturday night. Steve Kerr’s team had another impressive defensive performance, even without Draymond Green available.
“Yeah, the defense has been much more consistent than the offense for sure, and if you play good defense, you have a chance every night. We’ve always felt that way and I think that’s, that’s been the case for a long time and I’m really proud of the group. To play this well defensively without Draymond (Green) is pretty impressive,” Steve Kerr said in the post-game presser.
Golden State held its opponent to under 40.0% shooting from the field for the 12th time this season. They are the best team in opponent field goal percentage, holding their opponents to 42.5 FG%.
That was the fifth consecutive victory for the Warriors (37-13), who are only behind the Phoenix Suns record-wise. The game against the Nets was a special one as Steph Curry and Klay Thompson had a forgettable night through the first three quarters as Brooklyn returned from down 17 to fight for the win without James Harden, who was a late scratch prior to the game.
However, the fourth quarter was another story for the Splash Brothers. Golden State’s duo combined for the last 17 points of their team, helping the Warriors complete their seven-game home run with a 6-1 record. Thompson had the biggest moment of the game with a huge three that put Warriors up four with 12.1 seconds remaining.
“It felt amazing. It really did. I miss that feeling. It felt absolutely amazing,” Thompson said after his big fourth quarter performance. Steve Kerr was elated to see Thompson finding his footing to help the ‘Dubs’ to their 37th victory of the season.
“Yeah, it was great to see. It was a struggle for much of the night, but that’s kind of who Klay is in terms of hitting big shots and big free throws. That’s the kind of confidence he plays with even on a night when things aren’t going well, he’s got the ability to step up and make the shot of the game,” Kerr stated.
The Warriors were able to slip past the undermanned Nets, who dropped their fourth in the row. Now, they will face the Houston Rockets hoping to continue on their winning path, even without Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala, who is expected to return next week, recovering from a hip issue.
“Mike Brown’s done a great job this year with the defense and we’ve added some guys who are excellent defenders. Gary Payton (II), Otto Porter (Jr.) is totally underrated such a good player a +22 in the game tonight.
Always in the right spot at both ends. I just think the continuity that we have with Loon (Kevon Looney) with Wiggs and now adding the new guys, we’re able to withstand the absences of Andre and Draymond,” Kerr said in the post-game presser on what’s the key for his team, especially playing without important rotational pieces
