The Golden State Warriors were at Air Canada Centre to face the Toronto Raptors. Center Andrew Bogut was a late scratch due to back spasms and Festus Ezeli started in his place. Jonas Valanciunas was out with an injured hand for the Raptors.
1st Quarter – The Chef Serves Late Lunch
The Raptors got off to a good start with a Luis Scola hitting a jumper, DeMarre Carroll and Kyle Lowry drilled threes, and with a thin frontline in Bogut’s absence, Ezeli picked up his first personal in the first 45 seconds.
But three is greater than two and Golden State responded with long-range bombs from Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, starting with this one from Curry:
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After Curry lost a dribble to Carroll, who finished with an uncontested runout dunk, but Steph came back with a three on the other end, assisted by Brandon Rush:
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Steph played good close-out defense on an another Lowry attempt from downtown, then Curry came right back with a three-ball corner pocket delivered by Drayond Green:
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After DeMar DeRozan missed an open three from the left wing, Rush got the board, outlet to Thompson, who dribbled it up and stopped-and-popped for another triple:
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Then Carroll missed an open layup down the left side, Ezeli rebounded the ball, got fouled by Scola, and the sequence eventually ended with Thompson hitting another jumper from the right corner, worth two, however:
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Raptors head coach Dwane Casey called timeout and the Warriors had a 16-10 lead with 7:25 to go.
Out of the timeout, Golden State stayed hot, with Curry pulling up at the free throw line for a jumper that trickled in, after Lowry missed a runner:
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Then Carroll lost the ball to Rush and Steph made him pay as he dribbled around Green on the perimeter, using Draymond to shed Lowry, and drilled a triple from the top:
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Scola came back with an upfake in the paint and a banker good, but next time he tried, Ezeli did well to disrupt the shot, and Green went down the left side of the lane for a layup past Bismack Biyombo in transition.
That gave the Warriors a 23-12 lead with 4:46 left.
Ezeli split a pair of free throws after not fouling anymore after his first and grabbing his sixth rebound overall and fourth on the offensive end.
The Warriors ended the quarter with a couple more spurts as Curry got a graceful runner off one leg to touch board and rim before dropping…
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…Raptors backup center Lucas Nogueira answered with a thunderous two-hand dunk past Draymond from the left baseline, but Green closed out the quarter getting a pass from Curry while motioning to set the high pick, then splitting Nogueira and Carroll down the middle of the paint for an and-one layup.
Golden held a 32-21 lead after one period of play.
2nd Quarter – Klay Erases Raptors’ Comeback vs Dubs’ Bench
The Warriors’ bench unit got off to a rocky third quarter as Marreese Speights committed a turnover, Andre Iguodala missed a three-pointer, while Lowry hit two triples, and Terrence Ross added a dunk and his own trey.
Speights lost two more balls to turnovers despite hitting a jumper…
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…and, after a Cory Joseph layup and a Patrick Patterson finger roll, Toronto climbed back to just a 42-39 deficit with 6:16 remaining in the first half, as Curry and Green checked back in.
It didn’t start out well with Golden State’s floor leaders as Lowry drew three foul shots on Green when Draymond bit on a close-out beyond the arc, although it appeared that Lowry was about to take a dribble before shooting.
Ezeli missed badly inside, not seeing Curry open in the right corner, and DeRozan finished with an easy and casual two-hand dunk on the other end to take a momentary lead, 43-42, with 4:58 to go.
But Thompson got the Warriors back on track, starting with a catch-and-shoot from the right wing after Green missed a jumper that Ezeli corralled, got to Curry, and Steph dribbled in and slung the ball back out to Klay:
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Curry added a three, then converted an up-and-under against Lowry, attacking the paint…
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…but while about to run back on defense, accidentally caught the sharp end of Carroll’s shoulder in his eye. The Warriors had to foul to stop the action and have the trainers attend to Curry, but Steph would be alright and return shortly thereafter.
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Incidentally, that gave Curry 21 points in the first half.
Klay added to the lead once more as Iguodala started the fast break on a Green defensive rebound, dribbled to the top of the circle, stopped, and flipped the ball back to Thompson deep on the right wing, good for three:
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That gave Golden State a 56-47 lead, capping an 11-2 run.
DeRozan duped Green into a foul on three consecutive fakes, but Thompson got another catch-and-shoot trey from the left wing, curling and pivoting at the same time:
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The swish gave the Warriors a 59-49 lead heading into halftime as DeRozan missed a desperation heave from the right hashmark with Iguodala draped all over him.
(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via @cameronhawlik)
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