Curry, Durant led the Warriors past Thunder in a first festive party
Curry, Durant led the Warriors past Thunder in a first festive party
Stephen Curry comes from a season plagued by injuries and a summer that he thought could be among his best.
On a festive night of celebration, while raising another championship banner, Curry brought his usual style and dazzled. Kevin Durant did all the little things, too.
Curry had 32 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, Durant added 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and the Golden State Warriors began their quest for a three-peat by keeping the Oklahoma City Thunder 108-100 on Tuesday night.
"I love who we are, game 1 of 82," said Durant. "It just keeps grinding."
Golden State needed a good fourth quarter after the two defending champions received their 2018 rings in a pregame ceremony shortly before the start of the game and began the final season at Oracle Arena before moving to San Francisco Bay to the new Chase Center.
"It's a great movement for the organization, we know, but this place is special, so we want to make sure it's a special season," coach Steve Kerr said.
Klay Thompson scored just 5 of 20 points for 14 points, while center Damian Jones scored 12 points on 6 of 7 shots for the Warriors in their first start and the 26th game.
Kerr knows that his players are still getting fit and tired, saying: "We did not look very much like ourselves, nor is it surprising, we need a couple more weeks."
Paul George scored 27 points for the Thunder, who struggled to find an offensive groove while missing star Russell Westbrook due to knee surgery last month.
Oklahoma City stayed behind at 10 in the break, then came out of halftime making 9 of 12 shots to get past 69-66 before the Warriors recovered.
"I felt really encouraged and pleased with the way we came out in the third quarter," coach Billy Donovan said. "Last year it was sometimes a fight for us."
Versatile All-Star warriors Draymond Green, limited during the preseason by a sore knee, finished with two points, 13 rebounds and five assists in almost 33 minutes. Kerr plans to control his minutes in the first games.
"He told me that if you look tired, I'm going to take you out, so maybe I'll try to hide it," Green joked on the morning shoot.
Curry, who shot 11-for-20 with five three-pointers, scored 17 30-point appearances during his 2017-18 season shortened by injuries.
These teams met for the first time this season, although the Warriors won on the road against the Seattle SuperSonics in 1983.
Golden State lost the first game of last year in Oracle after a race for the title, 122-121 against the Rockets.
TIP-INS
Thunder: OKC started 1 for 9, missing his three initial attempts of 3 points, and was 6 of 23 in the opening period (1 for 9 in 3s). ... The Thunder were outscored by 57-46 but they took 16 in the offensive glass. ... C Steven Adams started after being questionable with stiffness in the lower back.
Warriors: Andre Iguodala experienced an oppression in the left calf and played 10 minutes, all in the first half. ... Reserve G Shaun Livingston, who had been questionable with pain in his right foot, played 14 minutes. ... The Warriors placed the three trophies of recent titles near the entrance of the employees so that they could pose for the photos before going to work. "One of the characteristics of our organization is that everyone is important, everyone is pulling in the same direction," Kerr said. ... F Alfonzo McKinnie made his Warrior debut as the first former Wisconsin-Green Bay player for Golden State. Then, in the fourth, Jonas Jerebko made his debut to become the first player born in Sweden to appear for the Warriors.
MOMENT OF SILENCE
The Warriors showed a photo of the last owner of the Trail Blazers, Paul Allen, on the big screen with a Portland hat, offering a tribute and a moment of silence. Allen, a Microsoft co-founder who also owned the Seattle Seahawks, died in Seattle on Monday from complications of a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, according to his company Vulcan Inc. He was 65 years old.
ROCK THE VOTE
Kerr encouraged fans to register to vote in a #RockTheVote message on the scoreboard, while the Warriors also did so on social media with Twitter and Facebook posts.
THE RINGS
The players' rings, what the team said are the first reversible championship rings in history, were lowered from the rafters with blue and yellow lightsabers.
Kerr called them "obscenely beautiful" and noted that he prefers the banner much more because of its meaning.
At the end of the ceremony, Curry took the microphone and called the team manager and team operations director, Eric Housen, to receive his ring in a charming gesture to someone so important to the operation behind the scenes.
The recently retired great man, David West, part of the last two titles teams, sat on the court and received his ring.
Representatives from each of the franchise's championship seasons were present for the festivities.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
Thunder: in Clippers on Friday.
Warriors: in Utah on Friday.
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More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
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