Warriors

Kevin Durant's fireworks launch Warriors past Clippers and into Rockets

Kevin Durant's fireworks launch Warriors past Clippers and into Rockets

LOS ANGELES -- In Hollywood’s backyard, in a game with high stakes for the Warriors, against a team redefining the word “grit,” Kevin Durant took 42 minutes Friday night to remind everyone that when he’s on top of his game, there is no more defense-defying scorer in the world.

When Stephen Curry rolled his right ankle in the first quarter and left the game for a spell, Durant was there to fill the void.

While Klay Thompson was scoring two points in the first half, Durant was doing more than enough for the Warriors to flourish.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers sent four different defenders at Durant and they all failed. Not until the second half, when he resorted to traps and double-teams, was Durant slowed. Too late. Durant by then had 38 of his career playoff-high 50 points while leading the Warriors to a 129-110 win in Game 6, finally ousting the stubborn Clippers from the playoffs.

“That was one of the great performances I've ever seen in my life, and I’ve seen some good ones” coach Steve Kerr said. “I've been around some decent players.”

Among Kerr’s teammates during his 13-year NBA career were Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Scottie Pippen and a man named Michael Jordan. Kerr also played against such greats as Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and Karl Malone.

Even in that group, in this context, Durant stood out as utterly spectacular, particularly in the first half, when he tied Barkley’s record for most points in the first half of a playoff game.

Though Durant’s second half was mere mortal (12 points, 3-of-9 shooting), his first half was a study in absurdity. He was 12-of-17 from the field, including 4-of-8 from deep and 10-of-10 from the line. The Warriors had a 72-53 lead at halftime because they played superb defense while KD was scoring most of their points.

To put a finer point on it, Durant scored 23 of the team’s 37 second-quarter points while taking only eight shots.

“We tried everything,” Lou Williams said, laughing the futility of it all. “We tried everything. We had several different coverages for KD.”

Clippers teammate Patrick Beverley butted in, saying, “It didn't work.”

LA was trailing by 19 at the half despite Curry and Thompson combining for 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting. Durant was, quite simply, a problem without a solution. He was pulling up off the dribble, finishing in the paint, launching from deep and drawing fouls that sent him to the line.

“We played just about everybody on him,” Rivers said. “There were four times in the first half where we actually made a defensive mistake where we kind of helped but not really. They threw it to him; we got out there, and he still made them.”

This was a continuation of a scoring rampage that Durant has been on since Game 2, when he committed nine turnovers and took only eight shots. He scored 38 points in Game 3, 33 in Game 4, 45 in Game 5 and then the 50-piece that sent the Clippers home.

In the four games after reminding everyone that he is, in fact, Kevin Durant, he averaged 41.5 points, on 57.3-percent shooting from the field, including 40.5 percent from beyond the arc.

“He just carried us these last couple of games of the series,” Kerr said. “He's the ultimate weapon because there's no defense for Kevin. No matter what anybody does, he can get a good shot. And he knew we needed him badly. And he just took over the game in the first half and set a great tone.”

Durant was only mildly impressed with his work, which also included six rebounds, five assists, one block, and one steal. He’ll take it, but clearly believes he left points on the floor.

“I scored 50 points, but I missed some good shots tonight,” said Durant, who was 15-of-26 overall. “I feel like I could have made a few more. But I felt great. I felt great. It was a fun game, for sure.”

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This “fun” game is why the Warriors rolled out the red carpet for Durant nearly three years ago. Games when Steph isn’t quite Steph and Klay isn’t quite Klay. Games when, no matter the pace, the Warriors need a jolt that only Durant can provide.

The challenge now is in Durant trying to take this level of heat into the highly anticipated second-round matchup against Houston. The way he’s playing, with blowtorch intensity and unfair efficiency, it’s risky betting against it.

James Harden, Rockets confident they can beat Warriors in NBA playoffs

James Harden, Rockets confident they can beat Warriors in NBA playoffs

For the fourth time in the last five years, the Warriors will square off with the Houston Rockets in the NBA playoffs. 

Golden State edged Houston in the first three match-ups, the most recent a seven-game series win in last year's Western Conference Finals. But the Rockets have closed the gap on the Warriors, winning the regular-season series in each of the last two seasons and being the only team to push the two-time defending champions to the brink of elimination since Kevin Durant's arrival. 

Now, they like their chances headed into Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals Sunday afternoon at Oracle Arena. 

"We're a very confident group of guys," Rockets star James Harden told ESPN's Tim MacMahon in Oakland on Saturday. "We've been that way the entire year, and we know what we've been through. And so we know where we're at now, and we're more than capable. We're excited about the opportunity. Like I said, we know the difficulties and the challenges that are going to come that way, but we're prepared for them."

Harden isn't alone in his confidence. Rockets big man Clint Capela told reporters earlier this week that he wanted to play the Warriors, reasoning that the Rockets need to beat the champions in order to take the crown themselves. They've wanted to get this moment all season, with Houston star Chris Paul telling reporters after the Rockets beat the Warriors sans Harden in Oakland in February that taking the regular-season series meant nothing.

The Rockets wanted another kick at the can, and they'll get their wish Sunday. 

"We haven't been successful thus far, but we had plenty of opportunities [and] haven't come up on the winning side yet," Harden told reporters Saturday. "It's just another opportunity for us to change that. Obviously, we know how difficult it's going to be, but I think every possession and every game is something different, it's something new. We've just gotta take advantage of the opportunity that we have."

[RELATED: Kerr wants changes to technical foul suspensions in NBA playoffs]

The Warriors could be short-handed in Game 1, as coach Steve Kerr labeled superstars Steph Curry and Klay Thompson as questionable due to ankle injuries they sustained in Friday's Game 6 win over the Los Angeles Clippers to close out their first-round series. Matching Harden's offensive firepower would be far more difficult if that's the case, and give the Rockets more reason to believe their time is now. 

Steve Kerr wants changes to technical foul suspensions in NBA playoffs

Steve Kerr wants changes to technical foul suspensions in NBA playoffs

OAKLAND - Heading into the second round of the NBA playoffs, the Warriors still have a myriad of obstacles entering the hyped Western Conference semifinals matchup with the Houston Rockets. 

Chief among them is the team's relationship with the referees. Through six postseason games, the Warriors have accumulated six technical fouls as a team. Draymond Green and Kevin Durant have combined for five. 

Adding to Golden State's conundrum, seven individual technicals trigger an automatic suspension for a player -- no matter how far his team advances in the playoffs. With that in mind, Warriors coach Steve Kerr hopes the bylaw changes in the near future. 

"I'll never understand the rule," Kerr said Saturday afternoon at the team's practice facility. "Whether you go lose in four games in the first round or you play 25 games and you go to the Finals, it's the same technical foul points that lead to a suspension. Seems strange." 

The Warriors have had their share of troubles with officials this season. They accumulated 77 technical fouls in the 82-game regular season, plus four player ejections and five flagrant fouls. Green and Durant finished the season tied for second in the league with 16 technical fouls. 

While the NBA reset technical totals at the start of the postseason, it didn't stop Green and Durant from getting reprimanded. Durant tallied three technical fouls - with one getting rescinded -  through the first two games of the playoffs, including an ejection after standing over Clippers guard Patrick Beverley in Game 2 of the Western Conference quarterfinals. 

In Friday's 129-110 series-clinching win over the Clippers in Game 6, Green received his second technical of the postseason after arguing a foul call with referee David Guthrie late in the fourth quarter, much to Kerr's chagrin. 

"I thought it was way too quick," Kerr said. "I swear he said 'tell me what I have to do better. I think he was called for a foul, I think he had good verticality. It's a questionable call but that happens all the time. He ran over to him, he said 'tell me what I have to do to defend that better' and he got a 'T.' So I was surprised and we'll see what happens. But we have to understand that we have to be on alert."

While Green and Durant have been among the league leaders in technical fouls in recent seasons, both have shown restraint when faced with an automatic suspension. With another deep playoff run expected, Kerr believes both players won't put the Warriors' season in jeopardy by earning suspensions. 

"I do know that Kevin and Draymond have a good feel for when they reach that number and they generally are able to shut that emotion off when they need to."  

[RELATED: Kerr says Steph, Klay questionable vs. Rockets in Game 1]

As for the current rule in place, Kerr says he's talked to league commissioner Adam Silver and league officials about possibly adjusting the technical rule for teams that advance and hopes that one day the current structure will change. 

"There's a lot of work goes on behind the scenes and I'm confident that they consider everything but you're not going to get a lot of sympathy," he said. 

"The way it is now doesn't make a ton of sense," Kerr added. "I'd like to see it revisited but that's coming from a guy that gets a lot of technical fouls and plays deep in the playoffs so I'm a little biased."