The Golden State Warriors blew two big leads but managed to hang on at home for a win over the pesky Toronto Raptors.
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If anyone was worried about the Golden State Warriors having a hangover after their Christmas Day loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the first quarter of their game against the Toronto Raptors should have quelled those concerns.
The second quarter should have brought those concerns back immediately. After opening up with a 42-17 lead over the Raptors after the first quarter on Wednesday night, Golden State decided to let the Raptors right back in it.
DeMar DeRozan had a crazy quarter to cut the deficit back to single digits and it looked like the Warriors would be on the verge of a collapse again. That’s when Stephen Curry finally regained his groove and pushed the lead back to a comfortable pace.
In fact, if there’s a silver lining to the Warriors blowing an early lead, it’s that Curry was able to regain form after his miserable day on Christmas. In the second half, the Warriors would look to roll again but the Raptors would just not go away.
Kyle Lowry would force the Warriors into some bad turnovers along with DeRozan. Golden State wound up having 20 turnovers on the night, which kept Toronto in the game the entire time. They also let Lowry drive and kick out too much en route to an 11 assist night for him.
They would cut the lead late in the fourth and gave themselves enough time to turn this into a game dictated by free throws. Kevin Durant would come up with some huge shots and DeRozan missed a late runner to seal the game for the Warriors.
While it’s pretty cut and dry about what transpired on the court, there were some big things to come out of this win. The Warriors played with fire twice in this one and didn’t get burned. The other is Durant’s monster game for Golden State. He finished with 22 points, 17 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 blocks. It’s an almost unheard of type performance. The Warriors seemingly found their groove and they once again did not lose back-to-back games.
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