Cook, Durant, and Thompson combine for 79 points.
No ‘Chef’, no problem.
The Warriors’ Sous Chef served the Nets just fine.
Quinn Cook scored a season-high 27 points on 11/16 shooting from the field, five assist and four rebounds. While Kevin Durant lead all scorers with 28 points, and Klay Thompson chipped in with 24, as the Warriors cruised past the Brooklyn Nets, 116-100.
Filling in for an injured Stephen Curry, Cook was more than just solid. He was amazing. Cookscored 19 of his 27 points in the first half off of a perfect 7 for 7 from the field. While Cook was already confident in his shot and his game tonight, it didn’t hurt to have Durant encouraging him to remain aggressive in the offense.
Regarding Durant, the tendency for the Warriors to use him as a point forward whenever Curry is out was evident tonight. Yes, Durant got his points and was efficient in doing so, but what really stands out is that he had 11 assists. Whenever Curry is out, the Warriors offense tend to run smoother when Durant isn’t relying on iso and getting everyone involved while getting his numbers. The plan worked when Curry was out with his first ankle sprain last year, and it worked tonight.
After the Bell at power forward experiment failed, head coach Steve Kerr turned to Jonas Jerebko to start for an injured Draymond Green. I’m not surprised that Kerr didn’t start Bell. I’m suprised that he chose Jerebko. But when I thought more about it, I realized that he did so to provide spacing for Thompson, Cook and Durant.
The spacing provided ample opportunities. Thompson took advantage of his clean looks. Jones got some nice slams in the lane, while Durant and Cook operated along the perimeter.
Next up, the Warriors will head to LA for a tilt with the Clippers on Monday.