Golden State Warriors – 98 Indiana Pacers – 96
The Warriors continue to throw a wrench in the narrative as to what their exact identity is. Six days after getting pummeled by the Bulls in Chicago and two days after falling apart in the 4th Quarter in Toronto, the Warriors walked into Indiana on Tuesday night and came away with a win. In doing so the Warriors can now claim to be the only Western Conference team to defeat both the Heat and the Pacers on the road. The loss is only the Pacers fourth at home this season.
On Tuesday, the Warriors looked like the team most fans and critics expected them to be all season. Playing with energy for a full 48 minutes on both ends they never allowed Indiana to gain much ground. The Warriors saw their 10-point lead from halftime diminish to 3 at the end of the 3rd Quarter before Klay Thompson went on a tear in the fourth.
Coach Mark Jackson started the quarter with Thompson and 4 reserves, but Klay didn’t mind carrying the load. After scoring 9 straight at one point and 16 overall in the quarter the ultimate reward came with .6 seconds left in the game as Klay made what wound up being the game-winner. The game-winner was a post-up on the right baseline which allowed the 6’7 Thompson to get a clean look at the basket over the much smaller 6’3 George Hill. Thompson finished with a team-high 25 points on 10-20 from the field and 3-5 from 3, he also recorded 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block.
Klay Thompson on game-winning jumper: "I was planning that shot the whole time, honestly."
— Bay Area Sports Guy (@BASportsGuy) March 5, 2014
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The Warriors persevered on the road against the best team in the league, but there were scares along the way. Coming off of a disastrous 4th Quarter in Toronto on Sunday in which Stephen Curry turned the ball over 4 times, he didn’t have much better luck tonight. Curry entered the game in the 4th Quarter with 5:46 remaining and in that span turned the ball over three times including a crucial TO with 46 seconds left by stepping out of bounds.
The final turnover allowed for Indiana to go two-for-one if they chose to do so, but birthday boy Draymond Green had other intentions after checking in to guard Pacers All-Star, Paul George. The Warriors held the Pacers in check on that possession and forced them to use the entire shot-clock before George forced an errant 26-foot jumper with Green contesting setting the Warriors up for the final possession and Thompson’s game winner. George finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists, but was held to just 8-23 (34%) from the field.
Holding team’s top scorer to poor shooting night’s seems to be a trend for the Warriors which can be credited to Iguodala, but Thompson and Green do their part as well when Iguodala needs the relief. As such, Green was forced to guard George after a dislocated finger forced Andre Iguodala to leave the game.
Andre Iguodala had his dislocated finger popped back into place, and the X-rays were negative.
— Rusty Simmons (@Rusty_SFChron) March 5, 2014
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Aside from the late turnover’s Curry had another strong game, finishing with 19 points, 6 assists, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals. The real story of this one before Thompson went nuclear in the final quarter was the bench production. The Warriors bench outscored the Pacers 34-11. Steve Blake was the only Warriors player that didn’t score but he contributed 6 assists and was able to relieve Curry of handling the ball after his first two turnovers in the final quarter.
It would take some thinking to rank this amongst the biggest wins for the Warriors this season, but it’s definitely toward the top and is yet another building block on the road to home court advantage in the first round come April. The Warriors have a chance to build on this win tomorrow night in Boston before returning home on Friday.
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