The Warriors kept up their winning ways Monday with their 12th victory in a row, beating the Hawks 105-100 in a sloppy affair that saw the Warriors run away in the fourth quarter 25-19 to pull off the comeback. Takeaways from another run-of-the-mill Warriors win ...
A Soaring Pain
This loss was on the books for Atlanta since the schedule came out, and it still goes down as a bad loss. Playing the Warriors, you expect Atlanta to lose. Playing the Warriors in Oracle, you really expect Atlanta to lose. Playing the Warriors in Oracle on a back-to-back in their fifth game in seven nights at the back end of a West Coast road trip they always lose on is the most scheduled schedule loss that has ever been scheduled. And yet, this was a really tough one.
It's not merely that they had a lead in the third quarter, or that they had tons of open looks in the fourth (1 for 7 from deep). It's that it came after a players-only meeting Saturday followed by a loss to the Lakers (without Julius Randle and D'Angelo Russell) on Sunday and then featured all those makings.
The Hawks played well. The Hawks beat expectations. The Hawks handily beat the 14-point spread. This one still hurts.
Durant Glass Crash
Kevin Durant finished with 25 points on 8-of-16 shooting and a whopping 14 rebounds. His ability to fill in the gaps and add production in categories beyond his hyper-efficient scoring really is what sets his addition to the team apart. They didn't merely add an elite scorer, they added a top-notch rebounder, passer and defender, and he's giving all of those things to the Warriors while scoring like one of the league's best.
Draymond Green makes another big case for DPOY
Green tallied four blocks vs. the Hawks, and completely smothered every threat they had late in the fourth, from Dwight Howard to Kent Bazemore.
defensive player of the year? pic.twitter.com/z2QMpY5Miv
— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) November 29, 2016
Green has said he wants Defensive Player of the Year "bad," and he's playing like it. His scoring has gone way down, he's not the playmaker he was with this team before, but he's still making a huge impact on this team and is just important for what they do. He continues to be the lifeblood of the Warriors.
Schröd Ranch
Dennis Schröder had a fantastic performance Monday: 24 points, six assists on 10-of-20 shooting and two steals. He consistently attacked Stephen Curry in ISOs and off cuts, creating penetration and making tough shots. It was a really good game from an uneven point guard finding his way as a first-time starter.
Andre Iguodala Still Has Tricks Up His Sleeves
Iguodala went for 12-5-5 with a plus-18. He finished at the rim, and helped spark the fourth-quarter run that pushed Golden State in front with an 8-0 run to start the frame. He's not the same player he was two years ago and his role is drastically different, but somehow, the Warriors are even better with him on the court vs. off than they were in 2015.
Golden State Keeps Getting Better At Its Weaknesses
Points in the paint? The Warriors tied the Hawks despite a good Dwight Howard game. Rebounding? The Hawks had 20 second-chance points on 14 offensive rebounds. The Warriors had 19 points on only seven. So they gave up offensive rebounds and didn't give up that many points. All the things the Warriors are supposed to be weak at, they're getting better at game by game.
