San Francisco – It was a special night at Chase Center, the Golden State Warriors honored their beloved assistant coach, Dejan “Deki” Milojevic before the game. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr asked the crowd to give Milojevic a standing ovation instead of a moment of silence. The sellout crowd rose to their feet to celebrate the life of “Deki”.
A game still had to be played, despite the players emotions during Milojevic’s tribute before tipoff. Golden State made the night even more special by defeating the Atlanta Hawks 124-104. The Warriors made a season high-tying 51 field goals and recorded a season-high nine blocked shots. Tonight marked the 500th consecutive sellout, the longest streak in franchise history.
“It was not easy, but I thought our guys did a really good job of trying to make that transition and settle into the game,” said Kerr. “That was my main message before the game, try to lose yourself in the game. I think getting out and playing is probably the very best thing the players can do to get their minds off the sorrow that we’ve all felt this past week. It’s good to finally get out on the court but we needed all that time over the last week to prepare for this and the guys really came through and did a great job tonight.”
Draymond Green played his first home game since his suspension on 12/6 vs Portland. He tallied his eight game of 10-or-more points on the season. The trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Green recorded their 400th win, becoming the 12th trio in NBA history to accomplish that feat. Thompson talked about the impact Green has on being back in the lineup.
Jonathan Kuminga made all 11 of his field goal attempts, matching Chris Mullin (12/1/90 at MIA) for the most makes without a miss in a game by a Warriors player in the shot clock era (1954-55 – per Elias Sports Bureau). The last NBA player to attempt at least 11 field goals and not miss was Nikola Jokic, 11-of-11 FG, 12/28/23 vs. MEM. Kuminga scored a game-high-tying 25 points, his fourth consecutive 20-point game, a career-long streak. He extended his career-best streak scoring in double figures to 21-straight games. Kuminga talked about his game improving and the influence Green has had on him since his return.
Tonight’s 22-point win marked the largest at home this season. Curry posted a game-high-tying 25 points, his 26th game of 25-plus points on the season. He’s scored 25-plus points in seven of his last nine games, including the last three consecutively. Thompson recorded his third consecutive game with 20-or-more points and 16th of the season. This was his 12th game of five-plus threes on the season, trailing only Curry (20) and Luka Dončić (13) for the most games with five-or-more threes this season.
Up Next: The Warriors host the Sacramento Kings tomorrow night at 7 p.m.
WARRIORS CENTER/FORWARD DARIO ŠARIĆ – Talked about his close relationship with DEJAN MILOJEVIĆ:
The Golden State Warriors paid tribute to their assistant coach, Dejan “Deki” Milojevic before tipoff. The Warriors and the Atlanta Hawks stood together wearing black t-shirts that read BRATE which means “brother” in Serbian. Golden State’s head coach Steve Kerr addressed the crowd and Milojevic’s family that was also in the stands by not asking for a moment of silence but a standing ovation to honor such a great person, hoping he could hear the cheers from heaven.
“It’s very emotional just to walk into the building for the first time on a game night without Deki,” said Kerr. “Obviously we’re all wearing our shirts, and there’s images of him with his ever-present smile. It’s very emotional because it’s all still very raw and surreal in a lot of ways. We’ve been practicing the last few days and there’s not a whole lot to say to prepare for something like this. You just dive in headfirst, stick together, and go try to win a basketball game, and honor our brother.”“I think the guys are ready to get back on the floor,” Kerr explained. “It’s been a week. We would not have been ready those first two games that were postponed. So it’s time, it’s time to get back out there, and our guys are going to be ready to play. We know we’ve got half the season left, still time to salvage the season and get things turned around, and that’s the plan.”
“I think the guys are ready to get back on the floor,” Kerr explained. “It’s been a week. We would not have been ready those first two games that were postponed. So it’s time, it’s time to get back out there, and our guys are going to be ready to play. We know we’ve got half the season left, still time to salvage the season and get things turned around, and that’s the plan.”
