Author: NBA Basketball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games

NEW YORK (AP) — Cam Johnson scored 28 points, Keon Johnson added 22 and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Atlanta Hawks 122-114 on Sunday night.

Tyrese Martin had 16 points for the Nets, who snapped a three-game losing streak and won for just the second time in 12 games. Jalen Wilson and Trendon Watford finished with 13 points apiece.

Trae Young had 28 points and 12 assists for the Hawks, who have dropped two in a row after winning four straight. Onyeka Okongwu added 21 points and 15 rebounds.

The Hawks led by 10 in the third quarter, but the Nets had it down to one by the end of the period and outscored Atlanta 31-22 in the fourth.

Takeaways

Hawks: Dyson Daniels had five steals to extend his NBA lead and has 24 games with four or more, the most in an NBA season since Hall of Famer Allen Iverson had 24 in 2002-03.

Nets: Brooklyn put together an impressive finishing kick on the second night of back-to-back games after falling 115-113 to Boston on Saturday.

Key moment

The Nets led by one before a 10-0 surge in the fourth gave them a 109-98 lead on Keon Johnson’s 3-pointer with 6:56 remaining.

Key stat

The Nets have won six straight against Atlanta at home. The Hawks’ last win in Brooklyn was on New Year’s Day in 2021.

Up next

The Nets are in Boston on Tuesday after losing to the Celtics at home on Saturday. Atlanta visits Charlotte on Tuesday.

The Clippers are trending in the right direction, and on top of it, they are becoming whole with leading scorer Norman Powell back and with James Harden sustaining his high level of play.

They've won six of their last seven games, with the Clippers’ 123-88 blowout win over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday at the Intuit Dome pushing their winning streak to three.

“This was a good professional win,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said.

For Lue, the shift began with the Clippers playing defense at a higher level while not forcing the action.

Read more:Clippers' strong third quarter leads to blowout of the Hawks

Before the game, Lue talked about how Harden has been a consistent force, something the All-Star proved against Charlotte with 31 points on nine-for-15 shooting. He also made four of seven three-point attempts, 10 rebounds and seven assists in just 31 minutes.

"We pretty much need to win these games,” Kawhi Leonard said after finishing with 21 points, five rebounds and five assists in 27 minutes. “Obviously James has been playing at a great level. ... It’s just been a collective group [effort].”

Lue said the Clippers are comfortable playing through Leonard and Ivica Zubac more frequently. Zubac finished with 17 points, 14 rebounds and a career-high eight assists in 28 minutes.

“It’s been great,” Leonard said about Zubac’s play, especially the center’s passing ability. “Like I said, if the other team is switching or if we need a basket, he’s able to relieve us and with his efficiency. The other team is seeing that and bringing two guys to him and he’s making the right play.”

In addition, Lue has integrated Bogdan Bogdanovic (seven points, four rebounds) and Ben Simmons (three assists, zero points) more into the fold. It has all added up to the Clippers playing with greater purpose.

“Just trying to fit all these pieces together,” Lue said. “We have [14] games to do it, which is more than enough time if we just lock in and understand what we’re trying to do. So I’m excited about that challenge.”

One player who struggled to put the pieces together Sunday was Powell. After missing 12 of the last 13 games because of knee issues and a right hamstring strain, he scored just seven points on three-for-13 shooting.

The next seven days will provide the Clippers with tougher challenges.

They face Cleveland, Memphis and Oklahoma City next. The Cavaliers have the best record in the NBA, the Thunder the second best and the Grizzlies are fourth in the Western Conference.

Read more:Kawhi Leonard's spectacular buzzer-beater lifts Clippers to OT win over Kings

But because the Clippers have found their groove — like when they built a 38-point lead against Charlotte — they are more prepared for the task ahead as they try to climb out of the No. 8 spot in the West.

“Getting guys back healthy, playing together, trusting each other, playing better defense than when we played in a stretch before that,” Zubac said about the Clippers' improved play. “And, that’s it. We’re kind of figuring it out. Defensively we’re better and we’re slowly getting guys back. ... We got a good squad when we’re healthy. So, just keep building, keep building. We’re in a final stretch of the season and we got to get as many wins as we can and everyone [has] got to be locked in.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Orlando Magic fought back to upset the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-103 and end the Cavs' 16-game winning streak.

Orlando recovered from a 13-point half-time deficit to win, with Paolo Banchero scoring 24 points and Franz Wagner adding 22.

Cleveland have already secured a spot in the end-of-season play-offs and remain well placed to clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers ended their four-game losing run with a 107-96 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

LeBron James missed the game with a groin injury, but Luka Doncic was fit enough to play and was the Lakers' leading scorer with 33 points.

Elsewhere, Quentin Grimes scored 28 points against his former team as the Philadelphia 76ers overcame the Dallas Mavericks 130-125.

Western Conference leaders the Oklahoma City Thunder recorded a 121-105 win over the Milwaukee Bucks to improve their record to 56 wins and just 12 losses, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 31 points and eight assists.

Anthony Edwards scored 41 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves extended their winning streak to eight matches by beating the Utah Jazz 128-102.

The Portland Trailblazers fought back from a 16-point deficit to end a five-match losing run in a 105-102 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

James Harden scored 31 points for the LA Clippers in a 123-88 win against the Charlotte Hornets, while Cameron Johnson's 28 points helped the Brooklyn Nets defeat the Atlanta Hawks 122-114.

Dorian Finney-Smith hobbled around, the ankle problems that kept him off the court in the Lakers’ losses to Brooklyn and Denver, obvious. Still, he fought with Kevin Durant and helped push the Phoenix star into missing eight of his first nine shots.

In the second half, Finney-Smith would hit two big threes and have a key offensive rebound.

Jordan Goodwin hadn’t started consecutive games this season, nevertheless consecutive games for a team with NBA title hopes, and here he was Sunday, harassing Devin Booker. He opened the game with a tip-in and finished it by extending a possession with another hustle play.

Read more:'They told me to go play, so I go play.' Austin Reaves can carry the Lakers when asked

“Never judge a player by his box score,” JJ Redick said of Goodwin, who had just two points and four fouls.

And Jaxson Hayes, a former lottery pick given up on by the team that drafted him and by most of the league, feasted at the rim and ran in and out of defensive switches, the Lakers quickly reestablishing their defensive intensity after a four-game road trip where they never totally made it off the plane.

“We knew we had to be better,” Luka Doncic said.

Even though they didn’t have LeBron James and Rui Hachimura in their starting lineup, Hayes’ return and Finney-Smith's and Goodwin’s defense made the Lakers look more like the team that had won eight straight and not the one that just dropped four in a row on the road.

Playing their first of five home games this week, the Lakers recaptured their identity largely thanks to their role players, the team clamping down on the Suns during a 107-96 win.

None of this is to say the Lakers’ healthy stars weren’t terrific — they were.

One game after he nearly willed the Lakers to a win in Denver, Austin Reaves scored 28 to go with six assists and four rebounds. He hit a three over rookie Oso Ighodaro and drew a foul, Durant slumping back into his seat on the Suns’ bench. He drove past Booker, absorbed the contact and scored, flexing at the Lakers’ bench.

And Doncic, who didn’t play in Denver on the second night of a back-to-back set, scored 33 points to go with 11 rebounds and eight assists — his fifth game in the past six where he scored at least 30.

“Getting there,” Doncic said, “but every day I’m feeling better.”

The Lakers play again Monday night against San Antonio.

James, who has missed the past four games, did an on-court workout Sunday but he’s still unlikely to return for a little bit despite being called “day to day.” The expectation is the Lakers will be conservative with his recovery from a strained groin while he ramps up to a return.

Without him, the Lakers have their formula — a formula that requires Hayes back on the court and the team playing with the right spirit.

Healthy or not, that’s who the Lakers need to be — even if the odds were stacked against them. They’d just been on a road trip, they’d just suffered a brutal loss in Denver on Friday and they needed to be at their home arena first thing Sunday to play the Suns.

And they were the team that played hard.

“That to me, that says everything about our group,” Redick said proudly.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Draymond blasts Stephen A. for ‘weak' LeBron, Bronny comments originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith made waves recently after a verbal encounter with NBA superstar LeBron James during the Los Angeles Lakers’ matchup with the New York Knicks on March 8.

Smith confirmed LeBron approached him about comments made about his son, Bronny James, by the ESPN talking head.

Stephen A. Smith begins First Take confirming that LeBron James confronted him at last night's Lakers game over comments about Bronny James.

"That wasn't a basketball player confronting me, that was a parent, that was a father." pic.twitter.com/QTWmScRIGF

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 7, 2025

Shortly after Smith made an appearance on “Gil’s Arena,” saying he thought James’ decision to approach him in that manner was “weak” and “bulls—t.”

"I thought it was weak. I thought it was bullsh*t."@stephenasmith gives @GilsArenaShow the full story of what happened during his confrontation with LeBron 😳 pic.twitter.com/K6rtZsbYvf

— Underdog (@UnderdogFantasy) March 11, 2025

Warriors forward Draymond Green took exception to Smith’s comments, citing his disapproval of the ESPN analyst’s choice of words on the matter during a recent episode of “The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis.“

“I think a lot of problems that guys have with media is … to call something that that man did bulls–t and weak. Like those are words when we grew up, like you’d get hands put on you when we grew up in those types of words,” Green said.

“So the problem that people have with media is, you go on there, you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s weak.’ Weak? Like calling another man weak? That’s not basketball, which is actually what Bron was saying in the first place, ‘Lets keep it basketball.’ Because calling a man weak, that’s not basketball, and you’re paid to talk about basketball.

“You call Bron weak for for stepping to you, but you’re taking shots at him as a father on TV, behind a camera. Most would say that’s weak. And then he will say, ‘I’m paid to do that.’ No, you’re paid to analyze, you’re paid to debate on the show.”

Green then mentioned a run-in with former Warriors general manager and current colleague of Smith’s Bob Myers.

“As soon as I saw him [Smith] say it, Bob was up here that day,” Green explained. “And Bob was like ‘I work with Stephen A tomorrow, got ya’ll game tonight, I’m in the studio tomorrow so I’m with Stephen A.’ I was like, ‘Oh, you make sure you tell Stephen A that I have no respect for what he said yesterday.’

Green further detailed that Smith’s initial comments irritated him as well.

“You go on TV, national TV calling out this African American, this black father who has raised another successful black, young man,” Green said. “You go on TV calling him out as a father because his son plays in the NBA? That’s ass backward … how does that even make sense?”

While Smith has never shied away from speaking what’s on his mind, Green certainly doesn’t either. Smith’s comments clearly have struck a nerve with not only James, but others around the NBA as well.

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Why Draymond believes Butler makes Warriors ‘real ball club' originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

It’s hard to adequately quantify momentum, but it’s something that can’t be ignored when a team is rolling like the Warriors are right now.

Golden State is 14-2 since acquiring All-NBA wing Jimmy Butler via trade, with confidence levels through the roof as the Warriors continue to rack up wins.

Following Saturday’s 97-94 victory over the New York Knicks, Draymond Green offered a very blunt assessment of Butler’s impact on the Warriors.

“It’s a real ball club now,” Green told ABC’s Lisa Salters. “With [Butler] on this team, whether he has 11 points or 30, it makes us a real ball club. And when we’re a real ball club, we usually win championships.”

Golden State’s gritty triumph over New York is the 12th consecutive game the Warriors have won with Butler in the lineup, improving the Dubs’ record to 14-1 overall when the six-time NBA All-Star takes the court for them.

The Warriors long have been synonymous with NBA greatness, and Butler’s presence now allows Green to enter games with a similar confidence Golden State exuded when it spent the better part of a decade at the pinnacle of the sport.

“Feels great. After getting beat up on a little bit the last few years, it feels amazing to just walk in and know that you have a chance to win,” Green told Salters. “That’s what we play for, you put a lot of work in, you want to play on the biggest stage. To put these wins together, it feels amazing.”

The Warriors (39-28) valiantly are hanging on to the Western Conference’s No. 6 playoff seed, with Butler’s presence sparking a crucial newfound energy that has allowed Golden State to keep pace in a frenetic postseason race.

While the days of Golden State’s dynastic dominance might be gone, the belief that they are capable of reaching basketball’s most prestigious mountaintop remain strong as ever.

Whether or not that comes to fruition remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain — the journey to get there will be must-see television.

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3 observations after Grimes leads Sixers to win over his former team  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers kicked off a six-game road trip by securing a Sunday afternoon win in Dallas.

They earned a 130-125 victory over the Mavs at American Airlines Center.

Quentin Grimes tallied 28 points and six assists for the Sixers, who improved to 23-44.

Jalen Hood-Schifino scored a career-high 19 points.

P.J. Washington had a 29-point, 12-rebound day for the 33-36 Mavs. Klay Thompson and Naji Marshall recorded 21 points apiece.

Both teams were injury-ravaged. The Sixers were down 10 players: 

• Tyrese Maxey (lower back sprain and right finger sprain)  
• Paul George (left groin soreness) 
• Andre Drummond (left toe sprain) 
• Adem Bona (left ankle sprain) 
• Kelly Oubre Jr. (right knee sprain) 
• Lonnie Walker IV (concussion) 
• Kyle Lowry (right hip injury) 
• Joel Embiid (season-ending left knee injury) 
• Jared McCain (season-ending left lateral meniscus surgery) 
• Eric Gordon (season-ending right wrist surgery) 

The Sixers will face the Rockets on Monday night. Here are observations on their victory over the Mavs:

Dallas dominates 1st half in transition 

Facing his former team, Grimes predictably scored the Sixers’ first bucket with a driving layup. He also drained a mid-range jumper a couple of minutes later. For Dallas, Washington was the early go-to-guy. He scored the Mavs’ first six points and posted 14 in his opening stint. 

Dallas started 0 for 7 from three-point range, but the Mavs crushed the Sixers in transition. After Washington cruised in for a layup, Dallas held a 12-1 edge in fast-break points. The Mavs’ first-half advantage in that category was 23-4.

While the Mavs did sharp work running off of both turnovers and misses, the Sixers’ resistance was minimal in transition. Ball handlers often steamed forward and got all the way to the rim. That’s been the case in many games this season. 

According to Cleaning the Glass, the Sixers entered the day ranked 28th in transition defense (opponents adding 3.6 points per 100 possessions through transition play).

Sixers make do without centers 

Hood-Schifino was a bright spot in his second game as a Sixer. He swished a three-pointer on his first shot, made two more triples in the first quarter, and reached his NBA career high before halftime. 

Oshae Brissett and Chuma Okeke also played for the second time with the Sixers. 

Okeke, who signed a 10-day contract Sunday, first inked a 10-day Sixers deal last month. He ended up playing just two garbage-time minutes in the team’s Feb. 7 blowout loss to the Pistons. Okeke logged 16 minutes Sunday, threw down a put-back dunk in the first quarter, and finished with five points and four rebounds.

Brissett had 13 points, five rebounds and two steals. He played some as a small-ball center. Though Brissett has previously filled that role in the NBA, neither he nor Guerschon Yabusele are sterling rim protectors or great deterrents to opposing drivers. Alex Reese, who Sixers head coach Nick Nurse described Friday as a “stretch four,” played at center late in the second quarter. The Sixers shifted to zone defense for the final few minutes of the first half.

The team’s defensive effort was not stellar in a half where Dallas poured in 68 points, but it’s very challenging to hold up without any truly natural centers. 

Grimes stars in 2nd half

The Sixers made a surge late in the second quarter and kept rolling in the third.

Grimes was in the middle of the action. He stole the ball from Brandon Williams, pushed ahead on a fast break and dished to Ricky Council IV for a lay-in that put the Sixers up 70-68. 

Grimes did it all the third quarter — run the offense; drive hard; make tough shots through contact; defend well on the ball. His and-one layup late in the third extended the Sixers’ lead to 10 points.

As a team, the Sixers followed Grimes’ lead on both ends. They pressured the rim ruthlessly, played much better defense, and capitalized on the Mavs’ extreme lack of healthy players. The Sixers’ five-man bench scored 57 points and Dallas’ three-man second unit recorded 38.

With Grimes resting early in the fourth quarter, Hood-Schifino knocked down a key three. Okeke and Jeff Dowtin Jr. drilled timely jumpers, too.

The last minute was tense, but the Sixers never squandered their lead. Grimes, Jared Butler and Hood-Schifino all sunk clutch free throws to ensure the Sixers exited Dallas with a victory.

Dray knew he would have ‘field day' vs. Valančiūnas in Warriors-Kings originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Draymond Green had quite the game against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night at Chase Center, and the Warriors forward had a feeling that would be the case.

After leading Golden State in scoring during its 130-104 win with 23 points, including 4-of-7 shooting from deep, Green shared why his matchup with Sacramento big man Jonas Valančiūnas was instrumental to his scoring outburst.

“Definitely [feeling] more confident; the ball is moving and you’ve got several playmakers on the floor,” Green said on Saturday’s episode of “The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis.” “So whereas you may not be ready to shoot, I’m ready to shoot because I know the ball’s probably getting swung my way, and last night when I hit that first corner three, you know when you see that first one go in, you just feel better.

“And, A, they have Valančiūnas on me, which I knew — I told DeMar [DeRozan], I said, ‘Y’all got him on me very early in the game.’ I told DeMar, ‘If y’all got him on me, I’m [going to] have a field day’ because [Valančiūnas] can’t move well enough. I’m in pretty good shape right now. He can’t move well enough to keep up or guard the screen-and-roll or help in the paint, because they’re top locking Steph [Curry], right? …

“Let me just go find this corner and knock that first one down. See it go through. Feeling real good about yourself. But also, I know that [Valančiūnas] don’t have a chance once the ball’s swinging to me. He don’t have a chance to close it out. I don’t have to rush. I could just sit here and lock it in, and to see those first few go in, I found that rhythm.”

The Kings’ game plan certainly was to faceguard Curry, but that didn’t stop him from making the 4,000th 3-pointer of his illustrious NBA career — the first to ever do it — despite scoring just 11 points. And Sacramento didn’t account for Green, whose marksmanship from deep helped him lead Golden State in scoring for the first time in a game since 2016.

Starting things off with a BOOM 💥

pic.twitter.com/lRk5raaTlk

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 14, 2025

Green certainly did have a field day against Valančiūnas and Co., shooting 8 of 14 overall with four rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block.

While the Warriors and Kings won’t face off again during the 2024-25 NBA regular season, it’s possible the No. 6-seeded Golden State and the No. 9-seeded Sacramento could see each other in the playoffs — and perhaps Green will face a different matchup.

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Draymond drops perfect one-word response to Moody's ‘nightmare' remark originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Draymond Green approves.

After Moses Moody called Green’s version of Steph Curry’s “night night” celebration the “nightmare” following the Warriors’ 97-94 win over the New York Knicks on Saturday night at Chase Center, the Golden State veteran responded with a suitable one-word reaction on his Instagram story.

“Spooky,” Green wrote with several laughing emojis.

Draymond approves of Moody’s name for his night night celly 😂

[via @Money23Green’s IG] pic.twitter.com/PFRKhsWEr5

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 16, 2025

Green hit the night night after his driving layup with 25.8 seconds remaining secured Golden State’s win — the last laugh after he and Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns were going at it all game.

DRAYMOND DROPPED A "NIGHT NIGHT" ON THE KNICKS 😴pic.twitter.com/UDPgczUAUu

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 16, 2025

Following the Warriors’ seventh consecutive win, Moody told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke about Golden State’s special name for Green’s version of Curry’s iconic celebration.

“We say in the locker room, Draymond does the ‘nightmare,’ ” Moody told Burke. “Nah, but it’s cool. That’s something obviously started with Steph, but he passed it on, moved it around and the whole team is sending them home.”

Spooky indeed.

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Kerr's historic Warriors coaching achievement silences critics originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Steve Kerr would be the 1,001st person to tell you he owes much of his glorious coaching career to the organizational structure that supports him and, moreover, the talented Warriors roster he inherited nearly 11 years ago.

The first 1,000 to tell you that would be those who have spent the past few seasons punching their keyboards to gripe about Golden State’s incompetent head coach.

In the words of Stephen Curry some 33 months ago after the Warriors closed out the Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals in Boston: “What they gonna say now?”

Already the most accomplished coach in Warriors history, Kerr on Saturday became the winningest. Golden State’s strenuous 97-94 victory over the New York Knicks was his 558th win, moving him past the late legend Alvin Attles and into first place in franchise history.

When asked immediately after the game about his journey to this moment in NBA history, Kerr couldn’t resist a moment of sarcasm.

“Well, it’s amazing to do this without any talent at all,” he told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke. “I had to coach up these guys who you know, and they …

“I mean are you kidding me to be able to coach Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala,” Kerr said, turning serious. “We have been blessed with such incredible rosters the entire 11 years. And more than anything, this was a reflection of organizational strength, stability and collaboration that we all share. The players, coaches, management, ownership. We have an incredible group of people, and the record is just a reflection of that.”

Since Kerr took over as coach in May 2014, the Warriors have won four NBA championships – one more than the franchise achieved in its first 68 seasons. Of the 384 playoff games the Warriors have appeared in beginning in 1947, 140 of them came under Kerr. His 70.7 postseason win percentage (99-41 record) sits atop the all-time list – ahead of such Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers as Red Auerbach, Phil Jackson, Pat Riley and Gregg Popovich.

This latest milestone, however, is about regular-season accomplishments. Kerr’s 558-302 record and 64.9 winning percentage rank behind Jackson and Auerbach but ahead of Riley and Popovich, and No. 1 among active coaches with more than three seasons’ experience.

It’s impressive stuff by any reasonable measure, and Kerr’s achievement was recognized by the Attles family, who presented him with the game ball.

“It was a great moment, being awarded the game ball by the Attles family was really beautiful, to sort of be honored by their presence,” Kerr said. “Obviously, Al Attles is Mr. Warrior forever. The record, it’s kind of surreal to even think that this could happen.”

The feat took more than 10 seasons, some marvelous, some forgettable. After losses, Kerr often was a popular target for armchair coaches, some even urging his firing. Once a regular on Twitter, now known as X, Kerr avoided the platform for three years and since has deactivated his account.

What they gonna say now?

Here, in chronological order, are five wins under Kerr in the regular season that are particularly notable on the road to 558:

March 31, 2015, at Los Angeles Clippers

Kerr’s first season, Game 74, against Golden State’s most detested rivals. He’s hired one week after the Warriors dismiss Mark Jackson after losing a searing seven-game playoff series against the Clippers. The new coach is on the spot.

The Warriors, who had won nine consecutive games, trail by as much as 17 points against a Clippers team that had won seven in a row. Golden State comes back to outscore LA by 10 in the fourth quarter for a 110-106 victory at Staples Center. The Warriors sweep LA 4-0 in each of the next two seasons. The rivalry is dead.

Feb. 27, 2016, at Oklahoma City Thunder

The defending champion Warriors were 52-5, the Thunder 41-17. Kerr and Green have a screaming match in the locker room at halftime. Curry limps off the court in the third quarter after spraining his left ankle. He returns – to the surprise of many – later in the quarter.

Iguodala, shooting 61.4 percent from the line that season, is fouled and awarded two free throws with Golden State down two and 0.7 seconds left. He makes both, sending the game into overtime.

Curry puts the Thunder to sleep with a 32-foot 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds remaining for a 121-118 victory. It’s the last three of his 46 points in what is known is the “double bang” game, as described by play-by-play announcer Mike Breen.

April 10, 2016, at San Antonio Spurs

The Warriors took a 71-9 record into one of the NBA’s toughest environments against a mighty team; the Spurs were 39-0 at home. The Warriors needed to win Game No. 81 to keep alive a chance to reach a league-record 73 wins. Game 82 was at Oracle Arena, where they were invincible.

Golden State, however, had lost 33 consecutive games at San Antonio, the last win coming in 1997, when Kerr still was an active player with the Chicago Bulls.

Curry scores 37 points, 20 in the second half, as the Warriors slip out of town with their 72nd win. Three days later, they snag No. 73 against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Dec. 25, 2017, at Oracle vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Still sore about losing the 2016 NBA Finals to Cleveland on a late shot in Game 7 by Kyrie Irving, the Warriors seek a modest form or revenge in a national TV game on Christmas Day against LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Kevin Love.

Curry is sidelined, with Patrick McCaw starting in his place. Zaza Pachulia is out, too, with rookie Jordan Bell starting at center. How would this makeshift lineup fare against the champs?

Maybe it helps to have Kevin Durant. He has 25 points, seven rebounds and five blocks. Thompson scores 24. Green posts a triple-double. Final: Warriors 99, Cavs 92.

April 2022

The dynastic Warriors are a thing of the past. The rebuilt Warriors are trying to close with a surge to finish among the top four teams in the Western Conference. They are 48-29, with five games remaining.

Curry misses all five games. Thompson is sidelined for two of the five. Kerr picks starting lineups from a hat, inserting Gary Payton II for one game, Damion Lee for another and rookie Moses Moody in a third.

The Warriors win all five games. By an average of 13.2 points. Two months later, they win their fourth championship under Kerr.

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