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 Andrew Bogut accomplished the feat at the other end of the court.
The veteran center highlighted a brilliant all-around game with four
blocked shots, leading a balanced Warriors team to a 107-99 victory
over the Brooklyn Nets.
In snapping a two-game losing streak and beating the Nets for the
ninth time in the teams' last 10 meetings, the Warriors (6-2) never
trailed in the second half. Golden State ended the second quarter on
a 15-4 run that opened a double-digit lead.
Golden State's defense then took over, holding Brooklyn to 44
second-half points after the Nets totaled 36 in the first quarter
alone.
"The whole key to getting the crowd involved is defense," Warriors
coach Steve Kerr said. "Once you get stops and get rebounds, you can
get out and run, and then the crowd gets into it."
Bogut was the game's top rebounder with 14 to complement his four
blocks. He also found time for 11 points, completing his second
double-double of the season, and five assists.
He got the greatest pleasure from the blocks.
"Especially when it leads to an easy basket," the 7-footer said of
his crowd-pleasing rejections. "When we're fluttering offensively,
our defense needs to do it for us."
Bogut got help up front from power forward Draymond Green, who also
filled the stat sheet with 17 points, eight rebounds, a career-high
seven assists and two blocks. The Warriors outrebounded the Nets
45-41.
Golden State won despite missing 23 of its 34 3-point attempts.
Neither shooting guard Klay Thompson (4-for-9) nor point guard
Stephen Curry (3-for-7) hit half his threes on a night when the duo
combined to shoot 14-for-34 overall.
"There are going to be nights when the other team is intent upon
getting the ball out of their hands," Bogut said of the team's star
guards. "We're very deep. We've got a lot of guys who can score."
Thompson overcame 8-for-22 shooting to total a game-high 25 points.
Curry had 17 points and small forward Harrison Barnes 12 as all five
Warriors starters scored in double figures.
Brooklyn fell to 4-4 despite a perfect night from the field from
backup guard Jarrett Jack. The former Warrior hit all 10 of his
shots and finished with a team-high 23 points in just 26 minutes.
Jack became the first guard to shoot at least 10 times in a road
game and make them all since Seattle's Gary Payton did it Jan. 4,
1995.
"It's always fun to come back and play with familiar faces," Jack
said. "The fans here show me a tremendous amount of love and
support, and I will appreciate them forever. It is always special to
play here."
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Point guard Deron Williams and center Brook Lopez had 18 points
apiece for the Nets, who were playing one night after opening a
three-game Western swing with a 112-104 loss at Phoenix.
"When you come out West, those are the types of teams you play,"
Nets coach Lionel Hollins said of the difficulty of playing the
Warriors. "They have mismatches all over the place."
The Nets, who entered the game as the league's second-best shooting
team with a 48.6 percent accuracy rate, shot 43.8 percent overall
and just 3-for-16 (18.8 percent) from 3-point range.
Bogut's best stretch came early in the fourth quarter with the Nets
hanging within 89-79.
The veteran blocked interior attempts by Brooklyn big men Mason
Plumlee and Lopez in a three-possession sequence, turning the second
rejection into a crowd-lifting Warriors hoop when he hit Curry with
a long outlet pass that produced a layup and a 93-79 lead with 8:46
to go.
Shooting guard Bojan Bogdanovic hit a 3-pointer in a 9-0 Nets flurry
that made it a five-point game with 6:10 to play. However, Curry
nailed a 3-pointer, and Thompson had three hoops, including a
3-pointer of his own, as Golden State rebuilt another double-digit
lead inside the 2:00 mark and held on.
NOTES: The Warriors played their first game against an Eastern
Conference team. They went 20-10 against Eastern foes last year. ...
Warriors C Andrew Bogut has 17 blocks in the club's first eight
games. Opponents have blocked only 15 Golden State shots over that
stretch. ... Golden State PG Stephen Curry's fourth point pushed him
past 7,000 for his career. He became the 17th player in Warriors
history to reach the milestone.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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