What was shaping up to be a defensive slugfest in the first half, turned into a rout in the second as the Golden State Warriors pummeled the Indiana Pacers, 112-89.
For all of the Warriors firepower on offense, no one scored over 20 tonight. DeMarcus Cousins led the way with 19 points while Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant chipped in with 18 and 15 a piece respectively.
Tale of two halves
Indiana came into to Oracle with a solid plan on defense. The Pacers made it their priority to throw double teams at Curry and to close out on every shooter. Midway through the second quarter, the score was knotted at 25 with both teams clamping each other. The Pacers forced six turnovers and held the Warriors to 39 percent from the field. The Warriors brought that same defensive effort and energy as they held the Pacers to an anemic 26 percent from the field and four turnovers.
The Warriors eventually found their groove on offense while still maintaining that strong and solid defense from the first half. The Result? A 35 point third quarter which turned the game into a blowout.
Cousins continues to put in work
Before sustaining a foot injury that kept him out for two games, DeMarcus Cousins had monster games on against Houston and Oklahoma City. In his first game back, he carried that momentum from the road right into Oracle. In addition to his team-leading 19 points, Cousins nabbed 11 rebonds to go with four assists. Despite his foul trouble, Cousins provided much needed scoring when he did most of his damage in the first half.
Iguodala’s play set the tone for the bench
The Warriors bench scored 35 points tonight and 11 of them were scored by Andre Iguodala. His production continues to increase and impress. He’s been aggressive in transition in recent games and was just as aggressive tonight. In the first, he sprinted infront of a pass from Shaun Livingston and threw down an emphatic dunk in the quarter’s closing minutes. He’s also nailed a three in the third to push the game further out of reach. When asked about his play tonight and recently, Iguodalacorrelates his performance on the court to his performance on the links.
Someone make sure Andre gets to a driving range or golf course or something during an off day.
The Warriors will return to action Saturday night as they host the Dallas Mavericks.