OAKLAND – The Warriors now have themselves a modest little win streak.
It’s at two games after a put-back by Klay Thompson with 5.8 seconds remaining delivered a pulsating 117-116 victory over the Kings on Saturday night at Oracle Arena.
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SIGN UP HERE Here are three takeaways that had the capacity crowd (19,596) on its feet for the final minutes:
The stars came to play
One night after being focal points in a win over Portland, combining for 63 points, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson brought it again.
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This time, they went for a combined 75 points.
Durant totaled a season-high 44 points (13-of-26 shooting from the field, 1-of-6 from deep, 16-of-17 from the line), 13 rebounds, seven assists and two blocks. He was active and aggressive at both ends, which surely contributed to his season-high seven turnovers.
Moreover, Durant went into full takeover mode in the fourth quarter, scoring 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting and making all four of his free throws.
Thompson poured in 31 points (12-of-26 overall, 5-of-10 from beyond the arc, 2-of-2 from the line) and added four rebounds.
If Durant and Thompson continue to shoot with this level of efficiency, the Warriors will find a way to squeak out wins often than not without Stephen Curry.
Jones bounces back
Despite a spate of sub-ordinary games lately, the Warriors stayed with Damian Jones as the starter at center.
And on this night, he rewarded them.
After playing 10 zero-impact minutes Friday night against Portland, Jones put in 21 productive minutes against the Kings, finishing with 13 points (5-of-6 shooting from the field, 3-of-4 from the line) and six rebounds.
The six rebounds are more than Jones grabbed in the three previous games combined.
One night after Jordan Bell came off the bench and shined, it was Jones who was a difference-maker. He was a team-best plus-14 in 21 minutes.
Gifts, gifts and more gifts
The Warriors as currently constituted have such a small margin for error that it’s invisible to the naked eye. Turnovers are their greatest enemy, especially against a quick team like Sacramento.
They committed nine in the first half – five by Durant – handing the Kings an easy 14 points and contributing mightily to Sacramento going into intermission with a 64-60 lead.
The Warriors got better in the second half, committing only six and giving the Kings only 7 points.
Indeed, turnovers were the primary reason the Kings were able to stay in the game, even building leads as high as 10, before the Warriors pulled it out.