ATLANTA _ During an adverse week out East, the Warriors lost Kevin Durant, two games and, for a brief but concerning time, the historical shooting powers of their starting backcourt.
So all things considered, as they exited Atlanta bound for a flight back to the Bay Area on Monday night _ leaving with an impressive 119-111 win over the Hawks _ they'll settle for a cumulative 3-2 road trip, closing with a pair of get-right victories.
On Monday, the usual suspects starred in the second half: Steph Curry continued to emerge from a shooting slumber, nailing six of his 15 3s, including two fourth quarter daggers to turn a close game into a comfortable final few minutes. Klay Thompson had 13 points after halftime. Draymond Green was solid.
But the only reason the Warriors' three remaining All-Stars were in a position to close the Hawks was because their role players held down the fort during a rocky first half.
Andre Iguodala was particularly impactful, uncorking his best game of the season at a needed time. As Curry and Thompson started cold _ Thompson went scoreless in 11 foul-riddled first half minutes _ Iguodala pounced off the bench, fresh legs, and nailed a pair of 3s.
Then he regularly attacked the rim, getting there 11 times (he's only shot more than four free throws once in a game this season). Iguodala finished with 24 points, his most in a regular season game since 2013. Fourteen of those came in the first half, a team-high.
The next highest first half Warriors scorer? Ian Clark, arisen from a deep freeze on the bench because of Thompson's foul trouble. Clark also nailed a pair of 3s. The Warriors, who have slumped from deep of late, made 20 of their 44 against the Hawks. They hadn't made more than 13 in a game since the All-Star break.
The bench players scored 41 of the Warriors' 61 first half points. Then the stars got it going in the second half, closing out an adverse trip with a solid win in Atlanta.
