Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) scores as Warriors center Zaza Pachulia (27) and Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas (17) watch during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016, in Toronto. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Warriors beat the Raptors 127-121
By Cole Reece|November 16th
Game 1 of the Warriors’ Eastern Conference road trip pitted the Dubs against the Toronto Raptors. Jonas Valanciunas got his scoring touch going, he led the Raptors to a 9-6 lead early. Lowry and DeRozan not known for their three-point shooting hit a pair on back to back possessions. The Warriors started cold from three-point land missing their first 3 shots. Iguodala and McGee were the first players off the bench for Golden State. Iguodala drained the 1st Warrior three-pointer of the game. The Dubs lacked tempo early. They committed multiple fouls on the Raptors. Toronto pushed their lead to 7 (29-22) after Javale McGee committed his 3rd foul in under 2 minutes. Warriors moved to their small lineup to push the pace of the game. DeRozan put on an offensive display. He showed why he his the leading scorer in the NBA. Durant hit a three-pointer that beat the buzzer to narrow the gap. Despite a perfect offensive quarter from the Raptors the Warriors only trailed by 4 points at the end the 1st (38-34).
The Defense picked up for the Warriors to start the 2nd quarter. Durant gave the Warriors the lead (41-40). Kevin’s three-pointer capped a 14-4 run by Golden State. Toronto ripped off 6 straight points after Valanciunas returned to the game. He owned the offensive glass as he inhaled rebound after rebound. The Warriors looked to their big man Zaza Pachulia for some added scoring. He did his part as he contributed 8 points by the 3:43 mark of the 2nd. Durant and Curry were rolling in the 1st half. Durant had 19 points and Steph had 17 points. The Dubs hounded the Raptors defensively. They held Toronto to 5/23 shooting in the 2nd. Warriors dominated the 2nd and carried a 13 point lead over the Raptors (66-53).
DeRozan drew a foul on Klay Thompson to open the 3rd. Klay responded by hitting 2 three-pointers on the following possessions. Warriors went on an 8-0 run that saw them earn a 19 point lead (74-55). Silly fouls by Golden State continued to give Toronto some life. Warriors missed several opportunities to lengthen their lead. They fell out of rhythm and failed to convert on open shots. The Raptors used the miscues to cut the lead to 5 (89-84). The Raptors shot 14 free throws in the 3rd quarter. DeRozan had 19 points in the quarter. It wasn’t enough to overshadow Steph Curry. He was on fire to end the 3rd and kept the Warrior lead at 9 points (95-86). Iguodala had a breakout game for the Dubs. He hit open three’s and was great as usual defensively. Golden State and Toronto continued to trade buckets in the final frame. The lead was cut down to 6 points by a Ross three-pointer. The matchup of these 2 elite teams did not disappoint. The Warriors were the better team and began the road trip with a 127-121 win. Despite 40 trips to the free throw line for Toronto, the Dubs firepower won the night. Curry finished with 35 points and Kevin Durant with 30. Tune into KSRO on Friday as the Warriors take on the Boston Celtics at 5pm.