1) After the gut-check loss to the Celtics on Friday, it was clear from jump that the Warriors wanted this game. They came out energized but were careful not to let that adrenaline turn into haphazard miscues. After committing a ghastly 22 turnovers against Boston, the Dubs managed only 12 giveaways this game against 30 assists. After a leaky defensive first quarter, Golden State outscored Portland by 30 points the rest of the way, putting to rest any thoughts of back-to-back home losses.
2) With the playoffs only a couple of weeks away, this was an encouraging game where the entire team played well. The bench was good for 42 points and was able to cut into Portland’s first quarter lead; Harrison Barnes had 10 points, his fifth double-digit scoring game in a row; and the three All-Stars combined for 82 efficient points.With Iguodala and Bogut scheduled to return soon, the Warriors are getting healthy and refocused just in time for a long post-season run.
3) After not installing Draymond at center until the fourth quarter versus Boston, Steve Kerr went small-ball early. Dray responded to the call and was ubiquitous on the court blocking shots (3), pilfering balls (2 steals), and dropping a 22-10-10 line. When Draymond plays with that intensity, these Warriors are darn near unbeatable.
4) After a 31-game absence, Festus Ezeli was reinserted in the lineup and looked springy on the court. In only nine minutes Festus had a dunk off a lob and threw his body around for offensive rebounds. I had forgotten the lobtastic synergy Swagzeli has with Dray.
5) Steph and Damian Lillard had a fun back-and-forth battle in the third. Steph dropped 14 points on a bevy of quick-trigger threes, while Dame did him two better with 16 points (38 for the game). With both guards smack dab in the prime of their careers, these earth-scorching bouts of scoring aren’t going to end anytime soon. (By the way, how strange is it that the best one-on-one scoring duel Steph has had this season came against Omri Casspi?)
6) Curry has 378 made 3-pointers on the season. Assuming he gets the game in San Antonio off for rest, Steph would need to hit 5.5 per game in the final four games to reach 400.
7) The art of Leandro Barbosa (14 points): Dude is a master at tricking defenders with change-of-pace dribbles and then quickly squirting the ball at the rim a tenth of a second before getting blocked.
8) Has Steve Kerr finally had enough of the Anderson Varejao minutes? After a minus-8 first half performance, Kerr gave James Michael MacAdoo the first big man minutes off the bench in the second half. Mac immediately started doing Mac things: running the floor (4 points), jumping around on defense (1 block, 1 steal), and most importantly, not being Anderson Varejao.
9) For real, somehow on perhaps the best teams of all time, and while consistently being flanked by the MVP and another starter, Varejao has a -7.2 net rating since joining the Warriors (per NBA.com). Every time I see AV check into the game, I wonder how many points the Warriors will have to make up by the time he checks out.
10) Steph’s best shot of the night came after the game.