Posted on November 30, 2018, by Travis Pulver
The Golden State Warriors have experienced a few more lows at this point in the season than they are accustomed to. But they appeared to break out of the rut recently. Powered by some huge performances from Kevin Durant, they entered Thursday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors on a three-game winning streak.
With Steph Curry expected to be back this weekend, Durant will no longer need to carry the load himself soon. But could he do it one more time to get the Warriors past the team with the best record in the NBA?
Via @CTVToronto
As it turns out, he was able to have another monster game with 51 points (his third game in a row with 40+ points). But it wasn’t enough as the Warriors fell to the Raptors in overtime, 131-128. A pair of late three-pointers by Durant sent the game to overtime.
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Durant accounted for Golden State’s first four points during the OT period, but Golden State was never able to pull ahead.
Toronto started the game on the right foot with an early 13-0 run to take a 20-6 lead less than five minutes into the game. The Warriors narrowed the gap to nine points late in the first only to be behind, 38-25, when the quarter ended.
Golden State was able to nip away at the lead in the second quarter. But at the half, the Raptors still had a nine-point lead, 67-58. They were down by as much as 17 in the third quarter but entered the fourth down by eight, 96-88.
When Kyle Lowry made a late three-pointer to put the Raptors up by six, 119-113, with less than a minute to go, it looked like a done deal. But the Warriors were not done fighting. Kevin Durant hit a pair of late three-pointers to send the game to OT.
Klay Thompson chipped in 23 for the Warriors and Jonas Jerebko had 20 coming off the bench. But otherwise, Durant did not get much help from the rest of the roster.
All five starters scored in double figures for the Raptors. Kawhi Leonard lead the way with 37 points followed by Pascal Siakam who set a new career-high with 26. Serge Ibaka had 20, Danny Green chipped in 13, and Kyle Lowry had a double-double (ten points, 12 assists).
Jonas Valanciunas led the way off the bench with 12 points in 16 minutes.
The loss is the fifth straight on the road for the Warriors and seventh consecutive win for the Raptors.
Golden State will have the night off on Friday. But will be playing the Pistons in Detroit Saturday night the second game of a five-game road trip. Steph Curry is expected to make his return to the court after missing the last several games with an injury.
Toronto will also have the night off on Friday before going on the road Saturday. The will try to keep their momentum going when they see the Cleveland Cavaliers Saturday night. The Raptors opened the season against the Cavaliers with a 116-104 win.