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OAKLAND – It's typical for Kevin Durant to be a brilliant quarterback, a great defender following him. When the warriors needed it most Monday night, he became a dynamic game maker.
It was as if identities were changing on demand. What remained the same throughout a 117-101 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies is Durant's commitment, selflessness and efficiency.
He scored 16 points in the first period because they needed it. He scored six points on the second goal, but gave four assists and at least three secondary passes – a necessary pass with Draymond Green dismissed at half-time with a foot contusion.
"It was dictated by the game," Durant said. "Clearly, Draymond is doing a lot for us and the coach is counting on him to do it. But with him in the locker room, I just tried to give us the same punch, facilitating basketball but also being aggressive to score. "
When Durant is in this mode, an opponent can not do anything. At six feet 11 inches, he is tall enough to shoot his defender or overtake him. What is toxic to the opponent is that he is equally good at both.
During the third quarter, Durant played the role of bringing the ball to the field and bringing the Warriors to the offensive. He essentially played in turn with Stephen Curry during the setting up of the offensive and his teammates.
During his 32 minutes of work, Durant scored 22 points (7 shots on 11 on the field, 8 on 8 on the line), six assists, six rebounds and one robbery. He did not have a turnaround and was over-25 for the match.
"Very often, he will just have the ball in his hands, but we sometimes design things where he can handle the ball and distribute it," said coach Steve Kerr. "With Draymond in the second half, the ball naturally attracted more KD.
"And it was a kind of typical Kevin's party, where he does not have to shoot a lot; he might not even be interested in shooting a lot. He's just out and when you look at the stats sheet at the end – he's incredibly efficient in the ball distribution and he's a plus-25. The guy is amazing. Night and night, its effectiveness is simply remarkable. "
During that time Memphis was protecting himself from painting, forcing the turnarounds of the Warriors and generally frustrating their attack. Curry was there several times and got five turnovers in a row.
Indeed, during the success of Durant (the Warriors beat the Grizzlies 34-15 in the third quarter), Curry seems willing to give up most of his tasks as a playmaker for the benefit of his great teammate.
"I just tried to find the right game," Durant said. "They helped a lot on orders, so I just tried to play smart because at the beginning of the game we had business numbers. We were not ourselves when we switched to painting because they were closing the painting. "
Generally, when opponents play "Pick Your Poison" with Durant, they must choose to play his medium, his discs or snipers at 3 points. That night, the Grizzlies had to choose between these options and its ability to reverse their defense.
They have never really had a chance.
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