No Curry but no problem as Warriors dominate Spurs

SAN FRANCISCO - Agence France-Presse

The Golden State Warriors fired a warning to their rivals as the NBA playoffs got under way on April 14, routing the San Antonio Spurs 113-92 to serve notice they will not be dethroned easily despite Stephen Curry’s knee injury.

Klay Thompson scored a game-high 27 points on 11-of-13 shooting, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range, and Kevin Durant added 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to power Golden State.

“We played well. We played hard. We need to do even better next time,” Durant said before praising Thompson’s long-range heroics.

“Klay knocked down shots. He was really good. He was penetrating as well,” Durant said. “We won’t always make shots at that rate but we need to play good defense like that as well.” In the other games on April 14, Eastern Conference top seed Toronto outlasted

Washington 114-106 while the Philadelphia 76ers trounced the Miami Heat 130-103.

New Orleans dug deep to defeat Portland 97-95 in the late Western Conference game.

Earlier, the host Warriors updated star guard Curry’s left knee sprain before playing, saying he was making progress and will be re-evaluated on April 21.

Curry, who missed Golden State’s last 10 regular-season contests after the March 23 setback, will intensify his rehabilitation work in the next few days with more running and lateral movement, the team said in a statement.

Curry averaged 26.4 points, 6.1 assists and 5.1 rebounds for the Warriors, who have played without several top players during the season due to injuries.

Despite the setbacks, Golden State won 58 games and are solid contenders for a third title in four seasons and fourth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals.

“We’re a championship ball club. We know what it takes this time of year in order to win,” said Warriors forward Draymond Green.

“We’re primed for this. A lot of people have tended to forget what we’re capable of. But we know, and we intend to show that.”

The Warriors struggled down the stretch of the regular season and finished with only the third-best record in the NBA behind Western Conference leader Houston and Eastern Conference pace-setter Toronto.

“Everybody kept our individual games on point,” Durant said. “At the end of the season, our minds weren’t on it. They were on the playoffs.

“Today they were on the present.”

JaVale McGee scored 15 points and played aggressive defense while Green had 12 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.

Reserve Rudy Gay led the Spurs with 15 points while LaMarcus Aldridge and Bryn Forbes each added 14 for San Antonio.

At Philadelphia, the 76ers overcame a spirited first half display from Miami before stamping their class on their series opener with a devastating second half display.

Australian-born rookie Ben Simmons finished with 17 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds while J.J. Redick led the scoring with 28 points.

Miami led 60-56 at half-time but were unable to respond to a second-half onslaught from the in-form 76ers, who have now won 17 games straight.

The Sixers outscored the Heat 74-43 in the second half, making full use of an offensive line-up that saw five players finish with double-figures.

Raptors beat Wizards

At Toronto, the Raptors snapped a streak of losses in all nine prior playoff openers in club history.

“It’s big for us. We got the job done,” said Raptors star Kyle Lowry. “Now we’re just going to try to continue to build on that.”

The Raptors struggled into the fourth quarter against a Wizards squad that had the most losses of any playoff team and split four regular-season games against Toronto.

But Raptors reserve Delon Wright scored five points and C.J. Miles added a 3-pointer in a 10-0 Toronto run in the fourth quarter for a 105-96 lead the Wizards never overcame.

Serge Ibaka led the Raptors with 23 points and 12 rebounds while Wright added points 18 and DeMar DeRozan netted 17. Lowry contributed 11 points and nine assists.