GAME LEADERS
Not that there was ever any doubt, but Klay Thompson is certainly ready for the regular season to begin. He showed as much on Friday night, scoring 35 points to lead the Warriors to a 119-112 win over the Nuggets in the preseason finale at Oracle Arena.
Thompson’s big night was highlighted by a 15-point third quarter in which he showed off multiple ways to put the rock in the basket. Not only did he connect on four 3-pointers on the night, but he also shot 9-for-14 on shots inside the arc. Furthermore, he led the team with six attempts from the free throw line.
With the win, the Warriors wrapped up a 6-2 preseason. And after stressing the importance of sharing the basketball and limiting turnovers throughout training camp, Head Coach Steve Kerr saw the team’s best results yet. The Dubs shot 51.2 percent from the field and tallied 35 assists on 44 made baskets. In addition, they had just 12 turnovers.
With the five-man combinations on the floor the Warriors, this game most resembled a regular season effort of all the team’s preseason games. The top seven players in terms of minutes played last season – Stephen Curry, Thompson, Andre Iguodala, David Lee, Andrew Bogut, Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green – saw the most court time in this victory, and they all made heavy contributions to the win.
Curry scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half and finished with a game-high 11 assists, while Bogut and Iguodala were dropping dimes all night with eight and seven assists apiece.
Now it’s on to the regular season, and the Warriors will start the 2014-15 campaign up on Wednesday night in Sacramento before returning to Oracle Arena on November 1 for their home opener against the Lakers.
