Warriors clinch #1 seed in the West after win against Suns
By Derek Tahara
The Golden State Warriors clinched the top seed in the West and home court throughout the playoffs with their victory over the Phoenix Suns.
The Golden State Warriors have now clinched the number one seed in the Western Conference with a 120-111 win, their 13th victory in a row and their 65th of the season on Wednesday night in Phoenix.
Stephen Curry had 42 points on 15-of-26 shooting, including 8-of-13 from three, but uncharacteristically 4-of-7 from the free-throw line. The other Splash Brother, Klay Thompson struggled mightily shooting the ball going for 22 points after he went off for 41 points in last night’s victory against the Timberwolves.
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The Warriors were without Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala in the contest due to rest. The rest given to those players could have contributed to a game where the Warriors would play “fend off” and respond to every Suns run.
Despite Curry and Thompson being the only double-digit scorers for the Warriors, the other guys such as Patrick McCaw, Matt Barnes and David West provided just enough scoring with nine points and eight points apiece for Barnes and West.
The Warriors got off to a fast start going up 41-18 after the first quarter. However, the young, hungry Suns started to climb their way back in the game off the play of point guard Tyler Ulis and Derrick Jones Jr., the human trampoline out of UNLV. With Ulis penetrating and hitting midrange shots and Jones Jr. powering down putback dunks, the Suns climbed to within six, down 58-52.
The Dubs, however, re-asserted themselves in the third quarter outscoring the Suns 33-26. Patrick McCaw had a stretch in the third quarter, where he showed all of his skill set. He got a layup, a rebound, hit a three, an assist and a near steal on Marquese Chriss, the rookie out of Washington.
The Suns made things tight in the fourth quarter when they trimmed a 14-point lead all the way down to three, but Superman was there to save the day again. As soon as he came back into the game, Curry hit a three to put the Warriors ahead by six. The Warriors kept responding to every mini-run the Suns had and pulled away for the nine-point win.
Tonight’s victory marked not only home-court advantage throughout the playoffs for the Warriors, but also a 65+ win season for the third straight season, the first time that has been done in NBA history.
The Warriors have two days off before they face the New Orleans Pelicans at Oracle Arena with the expected return of a long-limbed assassin by the name of Kevin Durant getting ready to boogie on Saturday night.