Thompson 3rd quarter heroics power Warriors to victory over Spurs

LOS ANGELES, USA – Klay Thompson had the hot hand as the Golden State Warriors gave head coach Steve Kerr his 250th career win with a 122-105 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

Thompson scored 10 of his 25 points in a 3rd quarter that was significant because it allowed Golden State to seize control of the contest at Oracle Arena. 

Thompson hit his first five three-point attempts while Stephen Curry and Draymond Green scored 17 points each as Golden State won their second straight contest.

“We stuck to the program,” Curry said. “Our defense stepped up. Klay hit some big shots. We got success off our offense and that opened up the game.”

Curry also chipped in 8 assists and Green was celebrating because he had his first game of the last three where he didn’t get slapped with a technical foul.

Kerr, the 2016 coach of the year, became the fastest to 250 coaching wins in NBA history, achieving the milestone in 302 games. That betters his former coach, Phil Jackson, who reached the mark in 346 games. 

Kerr received 39 victories during a leave of absence following complications from back surgery at the start of the 2015-16 season, when his assistant Luke Walton coached Golden State.

Birthday boy 

Zaza Pachulia celebrated his 34th birthday by scoring 12 points and Kevin Durant added a season-low 10 points but he also dished out 6 assists.

LaMarcus Aldridge and Kyle Anderson led San Antonio with 20 points apiece, while Manu Ginobili had 13 points and 6 assists off the bench in the loss.

Golden State plays their final home game before the all-star break against Phoenix on Monday, February 12.

In Dallas, Germany’s Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 22 points and Harrison Barnes had 21 as the Dallas Mavericks spoiled Isaiah Thomas’s Los Angeles debut with a 130-123 win over the Lakers.

Thomas finished with 22 points an ill-fated 15-game stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. This is Thomas’s 5th team in 7 NBA seasons.

In Chicago, Czech point guard Tomas Satoransky had his career night cut short when he was left bleeding from the head after being fouled on a drive to the net by Chicago Bulls Bobby Portis.

Satoransky, who finished with 25 points in a 101-90 win, was taken to the dressing room with 2 1/2 minutes left. 

Portis was ejected from the game by the officials for his hit on an unsuspecting Satoransky.

“Everybody knows the rule. It’s a dangerous play,” said Wizard coach Scott Brooks. – Rappler.com