OAKLAND, Calif. _ Klay Thompson, worn down from a recent illness and the rigors of an NBA season, rested for Tuesday night's game against the Miami Heat. But the Golden State Warriors have a luxury many don't: lose one All-Star, disperse his shots around to three more.
Given a bump in opportunity, none of the three _ Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green _ parlayed it into a monster night. But all three were productive enough to fight off an injured, rebuilding Heat team, 107-95, during a workman-like win in Oracle.
The Warriors have had two recurring issues this season: turnovers and an inability to protect the defensive glass. But neither was a problem on Tuesday night. Golden State only had 11 turnovers, a solid number, and only gave up five offensive rebounds, a great number, to a Heat team that features behemoth Hassan Whiteside roaming the paint.
But the Warriors' offense, without their deadly off-ball floor spacer, wasn't as crisp or potent against a Miami defense that is well-coached but severely lacking in premium NBA talent.
Golden State shot only 45.7 percent in the first half. Durant made four of his 12 shots. Curry made five of his 11. The team made four of its 13 threes. The Heat led 54-53 at intermission.
Durant drained a wing 3 right out of half to take a quick lead. Then Golden State slowly separated. Durant went 4-of-5 shooting in the third quarter, scoring 10 of Golden State's 26 points. But an improved defense effort was the difference.
Miami was held to 14 points in the third quarter on 5-of-20 shooting. The Warriors had flipped a one-point deficit into an 11-point lead heading to the fourth. But, remember, the last time they were in Oracle, the Warriors were up 19 heading to the fourth against the Grizzlies and lost.
Things weren't quite as bad on Tuesday, but the fourth didn't start well. The Heat went on a quick 14-6 run to claw back to within three with 6:35 left. Kerr called a frustrated timeout after a defensive breakdown led to a Tyler Johnson layup. The crowd grumbled. You wondered if the late-game issues _ even against a far inferior opponent _ had seeped into their minds.
But the Warriors responded well to close out the Heat, popping a 22-7 late fourth quarter run on Miami. The highlight plays were the simple ones. Golden State ran a simple action to get Durant a big wide open 15-footer. Curry stayed aggressive, using a Green screen to attack the lane for a layup. There was more movement. There were more Warrior fourth quarter points.
Curry's layup came with 1:17 left to put the Warriors up 100-89, essentially sealing it. But then a hustling Zaza Pachulia put a cap on the win.
On the next possession, Curry used his quick hands to pick Whiteside's pocket. The ball bounced toward halfcourt, where two Heat players looked in position to scoop it up. But a sprinting, then diving Pachulia gathered it and slung a hitahead pass to a streaking Curry.
Curry then laid it off to Iguodala, who was cutting to his right. Iguodala finished off his best game in a couple weeks _ nine points, five rebounds, four assists _ with a rise and slam to put the Warriors up 13.
In all, Durant finished with 28 points and eight rebounds, making 10 of his 21 shots. Curry closed with 24 points on 8-of-21, plus eight rebounds and nine assists. Green had 13 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Those aren't monstrous nights for either of the three. But they were good enough without Klay Thompson on Tuesday night.
