San Francisco – The Warriors dominated the San Antonio Spurs 130-115 behind a monster second half of 3-point shots from Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole. Golden State became the second team in NBA history to have three players make 200-plus threes in the same season (Stephen Curry, Jordan Poole, Klay Thompson). They join the 2016-17 Houston Rockets (James Harden, Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson).
Thompson finished with 4 points before halftime before he exploded in the second half. Klay Thompson posted his 11th game of 30-plus points on the season. He scored 27 points in the game’s second half, the most he’s scored in any second half this season. Thompson now sits at 285-made threes on the season, a league-leading mark.
“I just liked the way he stayed patient in the first half and didn’t chase anything,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. “The game didn’t go his way, but he wasn’t taking bad shots. I think he only got four shots up in the first half, but it was really important that he didn’t chase anything and he stayed patient and then the game opened up in the second half and we started getting some stops and when we can string together stops without fouling then we get into the open floor and that’s when guys like Steph (Stephen Curry), Klay and Jordan Poole get loose.”
“Just getting open looks and knocking them down and staying patient and trying to work within the flow of the offense,” Thompson said. “That allowed me to spring free and get a lot of good looks.”
Golden State trailed much of the first half until Poole entered the game with 4:15 left the second period when the Warriors were down 40-44. Poole hit back-to-back 3s to give Golden State their first lead of the night. He scored 12 points to end the half with the Warriors up 54-51. Poole recorded his fourth consecutive 20-point game (all as a reserve), tying his longest 20-point streak as a reserve in his career.
“It’s been a really good stretch for him,” said Kerr on Poole’s scoring. “He’s had good stretches for us in the past, but he’s been very consistent in scoring the ball. He’s in a good groove offensively. Just seems to be in a good place. So yeah, Jordan’s playing well.”
“It is pretty special, especially being the second team in history to do it (have three players make 200-or-more threes), there with really good company,” Poole said. “We still have a few games to go. Shout out to those guys for just raising the level of competition, not only in the games but in practice and just being around the guys here. The four years that I have been here, I have learned a lot and it is really special to be a part of.”
The Warriors are now four games over .500, matching their best winning percentage of the season (.526). Golden State improved to 8-0 when scoring 130-plus points. The Warriors won 11 of the team’s last 12 games at Chase Center and five of the last six overall. They also improved to 21-4 vs. the Western Conference at home.
Curry scored a game-high 33 points (16 in Q4), his 27th 30-point game of the season… He made seven 3-pointers (15 in last two games), extending his NBA-record 3-point streak to 241 consecutive regular season games.
Up Next: The Warriors travel to Denver to face the Nuggets on Sunday, April 2 at 5:30 p.m.
PDT, before returning home to host the Thunder on Tuesday, April 4 (7 p.m. PDT) in the last
regular-season home game of the current campaign.
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Steve Kerr talks Gregg Popovich entering the HOF
ON GREGG POPOVICH POTENTIALLY ENTERING THE BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME:
“It’s Pop. Of course, he’s going into the (Naismith Memorial) Hall of Fame and who cares that it’s not going to be announced until tomorrow? What am I not going to say anything about it? He’s amazing. The Hall of Fame was just a formality. Everybody knew he would be there, it’s just a matter of when. I just think there are so many people out there, like me, whose lives have been impacted so dramatically and so positively, by Pop. You can take all the accomplishments and the championships and the wins and everything else and it’s all meaningful, but it doesn’t come close to the meaning of his relationships that he’s built around the league and what he’s meant to so many of us. So he’s one of the most influential people ever in my life and I owe him so much. Yeah, he’s a Hall of Famer, and thrilled for him. It’s a no-brainer. He was a Hall of Famer a long time ago.”
ON POSSIBLY FACING GREGG POPOVICH FOR ONE OF THE FINAL TIMES:
“Yeah, I mean the last couple of years, I’ve wondered. I think we faced the Spurs in San Antonio last year when it was their last home game and I thought that might have been it and I think it’s just going to be strange whenever he does decide to hang it up. It’ll be strange not seeing him on the sidelines. We’ve all sort of taken it for granted for a long time now but what he’s meant to the league and to so many of us, it will definitely be a sad day when he retires. So I hope he keeps going. I think he’s still got it. And he can do this for a lot longer if he wants. But obviously, it’s up to him and what he decides to do.”
ON BEING A PLAYER UNDER GREGG POPOVICH DURING THEIR TITLE RUN:
“The first part of your question, I think one of Pop’s great abilities has been his willingness and eagerness to adapt and so I think he’s actually a very different coach now than he was when I got there in 1999. He was coaching a different generation at that time, at a different time in our history, so he had the hard edge to him that still will come out today, but I don’t think nearly to the same level. He could be scary Pop. But you always knew how much he cared about you and it was never personal, but the way he would challenge us back then, he put the fear of god in us at times. He adapted over the years, we were really stagnant, kind of, inside-out team at that point, and within five or six years, they had the most beautiful offense in the league. So he adapted to his personnel and as he really understood what was happening around the league. The speed, the pace, the ball movement, I think he was ahead of the curve all the time constantly looking down to make improvements and to stay ahead of the game. So that’s been a hallmark for him. Twenty years, that’s crazy that it’s been that long since my last season and in that championship season, but it’s one of my favorite memories that year to be able to retire going out on a note like that on a championship team with a great group for guys and have a couple of good moments in the playoffs was really the cherry on the top for me in my career.”
SPURS HEAD COACH GREGG POPOVICH
ON THE WARRIORS USING HIS STYLE OF PLAY:
“In all seriousness let me say Steve Kerr, I learned just as much or more from him than he did from me. He’s doing a pretty good job out on his own I would say. He played for Phil Jackson and he learned a little bit there too. So he understands the NBA game, he knows what wins and loses, he’s a purist in the sense that he wants all five players to play together, and that’s at both ends of the floor, understanding how it works, how the rotations work, and he’s been fantastic in being consistent in that regard, and he and Bob (Myers) have been bringing guys in that can understand that. Every player can’t play that game, they just can’t do it. But they’ve brought in guys that understand it and that will play their roles for the sake of winning, and winning big. So Steve’s not just a good coach but he’s one of the best family men ever. I appreciate his sense of humor probably more than anything about him. He’s obviously highly intelligent but he uses it with his humor really well and having him right next to me with USA basketball was a huge factor in having the success that we did.”
Photo by Warriors/Twitter
