Warriors’ Iguodala has a knack for big playoff performances

OAKLAND, Calif. — Andre Iguodala knocked down another clutch 3-pointer and let out some rare emotion, triumphantly reaching his arms out wide as he ran back to the defensive end. The Golden State swingman had thrown down a spectacular alley-oop dunk only 31 seconds earlier, and he was feeling it as the clocked ticked away on a second straight lopsided playoff win.

There’s something about Iguodala in the postseason. He paces himself through the regular season to be fresh and ready — and sometimes dominant — on the big stage for the defending NBA champions.

“Everyone gets hyped when Andre gets hyped because that’s a rare occurrence,” teammate Klay Thompson said. “You might see it on the golf course.”


It’s just what the short-handed Warriors were hoping to see.

Iguodala is back in the starting lineup for Golden State’s first-round series against the Spurs, filling in for Stephen Curry as the two-time MVP recovers from a sprained left knee. That’s how versatile Iguodala is: the 6-foot-6 swingman can be inserted in place of a point guard. The Warriors will go for a 3-0 lead Thursday when the best-of-seven series shifts to San Antonio.

At 34, Iguodala knows how to take care of himself over the long grind of an NBA season, all to be prepared to do whatever is asked of him in the playoffs.

“For us to be able to throw Andre out there really 1 through 4 both offensively and defensively, it’s an incredibly valuable weapon,” coach Steve Kerr said.

That’s when he has been at his brilliant best for the Warriors — and they are getting their money’s worth from a major investment last summer.

Many feared he might leave, but Iguodala received a $48 million, three-year contract to stay put and chase another championship. Even if he could have landed a bigger role elsewhere.

“Well, we met with him and we gave him our pitch and lots of money so we were hoping he wasn’t going to leave,” Kerr said. “I didn’t anticipate him leaving because he knows this is a great situation for him and we rewarded him for everything he’s done and for what we think he can do for us. I think this year was a good example of that. A lot of people were grumbling about he’s not shooting the ball well or whatever. … It’s the incredible defense, amazing awareness, intelligence, leadership.”

Iguodala keeps it simple, whether he’s in the lineup or coming off the bench: “Just try to do whatever it takes to help the team get over the hump and get a win.”

In 2015, Kerr moved Iguodala into the starting lineup, and he became Finals MVP as the franchise captured its first championship in 40 years.

Golden State is hoping for the same this spring. Iguodala had only started seven times before Game 1 of the playoffs Saturday, when he had seven rebounds, four assists and three points.

That’s after he missed four of the final five regular season games with a sore left knee.

“He’s definitely got to pace himself, the man’s played so much hoops in the last 15 years,” Thompson said. “Andre is a gamer. He is going to step up in the biggest moments, and right now it’s the playoffs. We have all the trust in the world for him, that’s why he’s a Finals MVP.”

On Monday, Iguodala finished with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting with four 3-pointers, seven rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block.

And he can guard anybody.

“His hands are so good. That’s the small thing that people don’t realize, he’s got great hands when he gets steals,” Kevin Durant said. “So guys are just thinking about that when they’re trying to score on him. As a scorer you’ve got to think about something other than getting to your spots or getting into your rhythm and it throws you off just a little bit. And that’s all you need to guard the best player, just for them to think just a tiny bit and Dre does that.”

Iguodala was part of the Warriors group that traveled to the Hamptons to persuade Durant to join a super team in July 2016.

“I always knew what Andre could do,” Durant said. “I played two USA teams with him, so I kind of knew his value. He’s not one of those guys that’s going to go out and say, ‘Here, Dre, give us 30 points.’ He’s one of those who can do just about everything good — he can shoot, he can pass, he can dribble, he can defend, he can rebound, he can do all those things really good. It’s not like he wants to do one thing more than the other.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Sans Curry, Warriors rout Rockets for 2-0 lead

OAKLAND, California – As Stephen Curry emphatically waved his arms to ignite the crowd and coached from the bench when he could do little else, Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors’ supporting cast picked up the slack for their absent NBA MVP to hold off the Houston Rockets 115-106 on Monday (Tuesday Manila time) and take a 2-0 lead in their playoff series.

Thompson scored 34 points and dished out five assists for the defending champions, playing without Curry because of an injured right ankle. Curry cut short his pregame warmup routine after appearing to be in discomfort as he was shooting while putting little pressure on the tender ankle.

Andre Iguodala, last year’s Finals MVP, added 18 points with four 3-pointers and Draymond Green had 12 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists.

Now, Curry has until Game 3 in Houston to get healthy.

James Harden had 28 points and 11 assists to lead the Rockets, losers of six straight and 14 of 15 to Golden State. He made 13 of 15 free throws after not attempting one in the opener.

Big man Marreese Speights hit a key momentum 3-pointer from the baseline with 8.2 seconds remaining in the third quarter to make it 86-79, and the deep, versatile Warriors showed they can win without Curry on the playoff stage just as everybody on the roster believed.

Golden State did it on New Year’s Eve on Houston’s home court and did it again Monday at rockin’ Oracle Arena.
Shaun Livingston, who left Sunday’s practice with an illness, had 16 points and six assists playing in Curry’s place.
After a 26-point victory in Game 1, the Warriors had to work a little harder in Game 2.

Dwight Howard’s dunk of an alley-oop pass with 6:54 left in the third pulled the Rockets within 71-67, but Golden State kept answering with big baskets.

Golden State coach Steve Kerr called for better ball movement, hard cuts and intensity on defense in Curry’s absence. For much of the game, the Warriors did those things well.

“There’s a smaller margin for error,” Kerr said of a lineup minus Curry.

Kerr looked at more film from that Dec. 31 game in Houston the past couple of days after already having watched it before Curry’s latest injury.

Harden went without a free throw attempt in Game 1 for the first time in 30 playoff games with the Rockets. Then on three occasions in the first half, Harden drew a foul beyond the 3-point line and sent the fans into fits. He missed 7 of 8 3-point tries.

But it was Thompson’s three free throws after interim Rockets coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s technical with 7:16 left that helped seal this one. Livingston scored the next time down for a 99-86 lead.

Curry didn’t take part in the morning shootaround or practice after getting hurt late in the first half of his team’s Game 1 win Saturday (Sunday Manila time).

He received treatment Sunday and Monday. He took the court some 90 minutes before tipoff and first went through his normal dribbling session before he started shooting.

At one point, Curry lined up to try a long jumper from the right wing but didn’t release the ball and hopped in apparent pain before throwing the ball in the air, clearly frustrated. He left the court moments later.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Warriors drub Cavs to win 1st NBA title in 40 years

CLEVELAND–An emotional Golden State Warriors squad captured its first NBA title in 40 years on Tuesday (Wednesday, Manila time), holding off the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-97 to win the NBA Finals.

NBA regular season Most Valuable Player Steph Curry and NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Andre Iguodala each scored 25 points as the Warriors took the best-of-seven series four games to two to claim their first crown since 1975 and fourth overall.

“World champions,” Curry said. “This is something special. This is a special group. From the start of the season this is what we envisioned. We’re going to remember this for a long time.”

Iguodala spent 758 games as a starter before being consigned to a reserve role this season, only to become a starter for Golden State in the final three games.

The move produced a faster lineup that sparked the Warriors to wins in each game to subdue the stubborn Cavaliers.

“This is awesome,” Iguodala said. “This is what we talked about, staying strong, staying with it. They kept fighting. This is unreal.”

Iguodala saved his scoring season-high for the trophy-clinching game while Draymond Green added 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for Golden State in the decider.

“This is great,” Iguodala said. “We’re going to remember this for a long time.”

Curry joined Magic Johnson and Bob Cousy as the only point guards to win the regular-season NBA MVP award and capture the league title in the same season, a thrill he shared with his father Dell, a former NBA standout who never claimed the crown.


“He played 16 years and never got the chance to enjoy this,” Curry said. “He can enjoy this through me and the whole team. Unimaginable feeling.”

Cleveland’s LeBron James scored 32 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and passed out nine assists to lead the Cavaliers, who could not bring Cleveland its first sports title since 1964.

James fell to 2-4 in NBA Finals appearance, a far cry from the 6-0 mark prior NBA superstar Michael Jordan had in the finals.

No experience necessary

Golden State became the first team since the 1991 Chicago Bulls to win a title with no players having prior NBA Finals experience and Steve Kerr became the first rookie coach to capture the crown since Pat Riley with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1982.


“It’s a great feeling,” Kerr said. “From the beginning we were in it to win it.”

James, 30, became the youngest by a year to join the 5,000 career NBA playoff points club alongside Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Cleveland trimmed a 13-point Golden State lead after the first quarter to 45-43 at half-time and began the third quarter with baskets by Timofey Mozgov and Tristan Thompson to give the Cavaliers their first lead since the early minutes.

But the Warriors answered with a 24-8 scoring run, Iguodala scoring seven points while Festus Ezeli scored the last six points, the Nigerian’s 3-point play giving Golden State a 69-55 advantage.

Down 75-61 early in the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers went on a 7-0 run, James contributing a layup and fast break dunk to halve the Warriors’ lead.

Curry, Iguodala shine

But Curry and Iguodala each had two 3-pointers to spark Golden State on a 17-9 run for a 92-77 edge with 6:01 to play.

Again Cleveland battled back. J.R. Smith added three 3-pointers and James a layup to pull the Cavs within 101-97 with 33 seconds remaining, but Curry and Iguodala sank late free throws to seal the victory.

Curry scored seven consecutive points to give Golden State an early 13-8 edge and the Warriors closed the first quarter with an 11-2 run for a 28-15 lead. The Cavaliers made nine turnovers in the first quarter while the Warriors shared 11 assists in pulling away.

James and reserve James Jones each scored five points in a 12-4 run to open the second quarter, pulling the Cavaliers within 32-27. The Warriors missed nine shots in a row and 10 of their first 11 in the period.

Cleveland closed the first half with an 8-2 run, Thompson’s rebound dunk pulling the Cavaliers within 45-43 at half-time.

source: sports.inquirer.net