Golden State's first stop on their five-game road trip started in Memphis to take on the Grizzlies. The Warriors came out strong, and continued solid play thru all four quarters as they defeated the Grizzlies, 121-101. Jonathan Kuminga continued his streak of scoring 20 points or more in eight games. Lester Quinones, subbing for an ill Dario Saric, came off the bench and provided 10 points, and Brandin Podziemski dished out a franchise record 14 assists, as the Dubs played a very strong 4th quarter, winning the battle there by 36-28. A good start to this five-game road trip considering the injuries the team has been dealing with.
Playing the second game of a back-to-back, the Warriors traveled to Atlanta to play the Hawks in what turned out to be a high scoring game by both teams. It was obvious though, that the Dubs were running on fumes, as they lost in overtime, 141-134. This game marks the 11th loss on the road in OT, a continuous dire record in the NBA. Kuminga had his 20 points or more game snapped, as he fouled out late in the 4th quarter, and Steph Curry's 60 point evening was not enough, as the Dubs were flat-out awful in that overtime. Next up was a visit to the New Jersey....err...Brooklyn Nets (old habits die hard!). In a grinding game, where the first half was ugly, with all the bricks being thrown up, where the only 3-point shots (four) were made by Curry, it was a game that showed the Warriors clamp down on defense (possibly their best defense in the 2nd half), 72 points in the paint, 60(!!!) rebounds, Podz with a double-double (15 points, 11 rebounds), Kuminga back to scoring over 20 points, finishing with 28, and the Dubs beat the Nets, 109-98 for a clutch win. The grit was there tonight for the Warriors, in the middle of their five game road trip! NOTE: Podz is the first rookie to have 3 games with a double/double and no turnovers since...1968!
Golden State next travelled to Philly to play the 76'ers, who will be without their MVP star Joel Emblid, who tore the meniscus in his knee when playing the Dubs at Chase Center last week. Emblid had surgery this week, and could miss the rest of the season. His absence was felt by the Sixers, as the Warriors crushed Philly, 127-104 in a runaway win. Things didn't start well, as the Dubs scored only 15 points in the 1st quarter, but then the defense clamped down on the Sixers, leading by 30 points at one point in the 2nd half. Andrew Wiggins returned from a foot injury and had a great game getting the double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds. Kuminga and Klay Thompson had good games, both scoring 18 points.
While Curry only scored nine points, the Warrior's bench picked up the slack, led by Lester Quinones dropping 13 points, and the bench overall adding 58 points to help lead the team to a feel-good victory on the first of a back to back game schedule.
Next evening, Golden State travelled to Indiana to finish off the back to back, and the final game of this five game road trip against the Indiana Pacers without any changes to the team, as the Warriors made no moves at the NBA trade deadline. Pundits were predicting that this game would be a shootout, as the Pacers have the #1 offense in the NBA, and from the tip-off, it was off to the races! Steph Curry was on fire on the first half, hitting his first seven 3-pointers, and finishing the half with 29, and the Dubs were up, 70-58 at halftime!
The third quarter the Pacers were able to slow Curry down, but the rest of the team was picking up baskets, and also tightened the defense to close out the 3rd with a 95-76 lead!
The fourth quarter continued at the same pace for the Dubs to the point where the starters were rested, and the bench players such as Santos, Moody, et al kept the scoring streak going, winning the quarter and the game, 131-109. Curry finished with 42 points and eleven 3-pointers. The Warriors finished a great road trip with a 4-1 record, and also won their 11th road game, which matches the total of road wins of LAST SEASON! Now the team head home (happy flight!) and faces the Phoenix Suns Saturday!
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