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THE SCORE OF THE BOX
OAKLAND – After a tight first half during which the Warriors finally found a rhythm, they took things pretty well on Saturday night to allow the Brooklyn Nets to be beaten to 116-100.
Playing without Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Shaun Livingston, the Warriors earned 28 points from Kevin Durant, a 27-yard record for Quinn Cook – who started for Curry as leader – and 24 for Klay Thompson.
Here are three points to remember from the victory that pushed the Warriors to 11-2 this season:
Cook has more than a good shot
With Curry out, the Warriors knew they would need to be tagged by someone other than Thompson and Durant. They hoped that Cook would provide them, and he rewarded them even better than they would have imagined.
Cook's rating was done very efficiently. He fired 11 times out of 16 from the ground, including 3 out of 5 beyond the bow. His first half of 19 points was a statement. That alone would have been satisfactory, but he added eight more points after the intermission.
In addition, Cook also delivered to other areas, collecting five assists and capturing three rebounds, a stellar number for a person just 6 feet. He finished over-16.
The biggest worry that came into this game was Cook's performance. If it produces anything close to that, the Warriors are in good hands with Curry out.
During fills a lot of gaps
The Warriors' second major concern was whether they would find the required energy in the absence of Green. He missed Thursday's loss to Milwaukee Bucks.
Nobody brought more than Durant. It was as if he had absorbed some of Green's inflexible passion into his soul. Durant has not only danced on the stats sheet, he has also awakened the spirit of the entire team.
Durant led the team in scoring (9 shots on 15 shots in the field) and aids (11). Tied first in flights (two), two categories in which Green generally excels. For good measure, Durant also rejected a shot on the edge. He was over-22 for the match.
The scoring ability of Durant is indisputable. He is a champion four times. But he also has the gift of providing what is needed beyond, which is important when other stars are no longer on the list.
The timely defense turns things in their favor
The Warriors burned the nets early, reaching 70% of the shots early in the second quarter, but they could not deviate because they were not defending well enough.
This changed later in the quarter. Up 59-53, the Warriors cleared Brooklyn in the 3:18 end of the half, taking a 65-53 intermission lead.
They did not stop there. The Warriors opened the second half, limiting the goals to one goal on the field in the first four minutes.
These two defensive defenses – leaving only two points over a period of nearly eight minutes – led to a six-point lead to 13 and 20 later to the third.
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