warriors game day: warriors vs cavs recap (Photo: @nickleer0y Instagram account)
ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — Golden State Warriors fans began the day in anticipation of both Stephen Curry‘s birthday, with accompanying cupcake-colored kicks, as well as the return of Jarrett Jack to #Roaracle.
PRE-GAME
Remember when Jack said goodbye to#Roaracle last year after the #Warriors lost Game 6 to the San Antonio Spurs? Thanks for the memories!
Although he didn’t wear his game kicks at morning shootaround, by the way his shots were splashing without even hitting the rim, you’d think it was his birthday or something!
At the pregame shootaround at #Roaracle, we got a good look at those cupcake shoes.
At #WarriorsGround, special birthday placards for Curry were being handed out.
Cavs coach Mike Brown on if Curry is a good defender: “…you’ve got to be able to defend in order to be on a team that has the numbers that they have.”
Jack got a huge ovation during pregame intros at #Roaracle.
IN-GAME
The Warriors took an early dominant lead, 27-11, over the Cavs. Curry made an early three, giving him 54 straight games with a 3-pointer made, as he tallied 5 points, 4 assists so far.
The lead began to dwindle as the Warriors led just 36-31 with 7:00 to go in the second quarter. The Dubs’ bench couldn’t hold the lead and by halftime, it was Warriors 53, Cavs 52. The stats were there. David Lee had 13 points, Andrew Bogut 10 rebounds, Draymond Green 10 points off the bench, and Curry 6 assists, but the Dubs gave up 36 points in the second period.
With 2:26 to go in the third quarter, it was Cavs 73, Warriors 68. To make matters worse, the Dubs were shooting just 3-for-8 from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Spencer Hawes was putting up some gaudy numbers: 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Well into the fourth quarter, with 8:34 to go in the game, the Cavs were up by double-digits, 86-76. Curry had 20 points and 7 assists by then.
The Dubs just couldn’t get a bucket and trailed, 92-76, with 6:44 to go, a 34-point swing. One of many tough shots that the Cavs hit, Dion Waiters got a fadeaway to bounce around the rim and drop, and Warriors coach Mark Jackson had no choice but to call timeout, even inserting Marreese Speights to see if the momentum could be changed.
It could not, and the Cavs went on to win convincingly, 103-94. Curry led the Warriors with 27 points and 8 assists, but the young Dubs played down to their competition once again, although such behavior had not been seen in a long while.
POST-GAME
The post-game press conference took awhile to take shape, as Jackson spent a long time in the locker room discussing what had transpired. Jackson was disappointed with the 3rd and 4th quarter defense: “…not our brand of defense, a recipe for disaster and unacceptable.” Curry said that “nothing was clicking after everything was clicking.”
Jackson also announced that Andre Iguodala was suffering from knee tendonitis, although any hamstring issues seem to have been resolved. On his knee tendonitis, Iguodala said that he’s dealt with it ever since college: “Learn how to play with, deal with it, be safe with it…”
Lee said the Cavs “were the aggressor the second half and a lot of times the whistle goes to the aggressor, rightfully so.” Violet Palmer was one of the refs for the game and #Roaracle could not tolerate her calls. The Warriors are 0-7 when Palmer referees a game at Oracle Arena.
Bogut denied having any letdown against the Cavs: “They outhustled us and outworked us for three quarters.”
Taking a leadership role, Curry tried to make sure after the game that his teammates didn’t “let (this loss) linger”. He felt it was important to let his team know that “prior to the LA game they were playing great basketball”.
Jack came to the Warriors locker room after the game to say hello and he first said hello to Curry. As Iguodala finished his interview, he walked by Jack and checked out his watch:
Andre Iguodala was checking out Jarrett Jack's watch and asking him how much he paid for it.
— LetsGoWarriors (@LetsGoWarriors) March 15, 2014
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