The Warriors continued their historic start to the season, earning a 112-109 road win over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday.
The Warriors continued their historic start to the season, earning a 112-109 road win over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday. Stephen Curry scored a game-high 44 points, his second consecutive 40-point effort. Klay Thompson contributed 26 points and six three-pointers, while Festus Ezeli notched eight points and 10 rebounds after starting in place of the injured Andrew Bogut.
GAME LEADERS
Coming into the game, Stephen Curry had averaged more points per game for his career against Toronto than any other team in the league, and that continues to be the case following Golden State’s victory. After scoring 28 points in the third quarter of Wednesday’s win in Charlotte, Curry followed that up with another impressive burst in the first quarter on Saturday. He opened the scoring for Golden State with the first of his nine three-pointers of the game, which tied his personal season-high. Less than four minutes later, he sank his fourth trey to put the Dubs up 21-10 with 6:39 left in the frame. The two sides would play it even for the duration of the quarter, as the Warriors carried a 32-21 advantage into the second frame.
Curry gave way to Klay Thompson in the second, as the other Splash Brother took the scoring reigns for Golden State. After Toronto had come all the way back to take a 43-42 lead with 4:59 remaining in the half, Thompson caught fire. He’d account for four three-pointers in the duration of the half, with his final trey coming with 4.9 seconds on the clock to give Golden State a 59-49 lead heading into halftime. In total, the Splash Brothers combined for 40 points in that first half, while the Raptors kept themselves in the game by outscoring Golden State 15-6 on second chance opportunities. The Raptors continued to chip away at the Warriors’ lead throughout the third quarter, closing within two points within the last minute. But Curry’s finger roll with 2.1 seconds left gave the Warriors a slight 83-79 advantage.
Toronto briefly crested the hill early in the fourth quarter, as James Johnson’s free throw put the Raptors up 85-84 with 9:30 left to play, but the Warriors would respond. Thompson and Curry sank back-to-back three-pointers as part of a 8-2 Golden State run to regain the lead. However, the Raptors proved once again that they would not go quietly. Toronto would outscore Golden State 11-3 over the next two and a half minutes before Curry’s eighth three-pointer of the game tied things up at 98-98 with 3:37 left to play. After Lucas Nogueira’s dunk tied the game at 102 with 2:03 remaining in the game, Draymond Green sank two free throws to give the Warriors a lead that they would not relinquish. DeMar DeRozan missed the back end of his two free throw attempts on the ensuing possession, giving the Warriors a one-point lead with less than a minute to play. From there, Golden State made all eight of their free throw attempts for the duration of the game, as Toronto was forced to foul in order to extend the contest. The timely shooting and solid team defense proved to be enough, as the Warriors escaped Toronto with a 112-109 victory. Now 21-0 on the season, Golden State will look to extend their historic winning streak another game when they take on the Nets in Brooklyn in the back end of a back-to-back on Sunday.