OAKLAND — Kevin Durant’s return to the basketball court was exactly what the Warriors were looking for on Saturday — relatively low key.
The Warriors won the game 123-101 over New Orleans, but every detail that mattered was about Durant.
Durant played 31 minutes, scored 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out 6 assists in his first action since a knee injury Feb. 28 in Washington. Steve Kerr said there weren’t going to be minute restrictions on his 7-foot forward and he wasn’t kidding — nobody logged more time on the court for the Warriors. Durant continued to play in the fourth quarter when the Warriors took a 30 point lead over the Pelicans.
As far as his play, the only sign of rust was his 3-point shot (0-for-4). Durant wasn’t hesitant with the basketball, looked explosive and immediately attacked New Orleans. On the first offensive possession of the game, KD blew by Alexis Ajinca for a reverse slam. Quite the welcome back after missing 19 games.
Yep, looks good to us pic.twitter.com/LLiIBnKQ9J
— KNBR (@KNBR) April 9, 2017
On a night where Steph Curry rested (left knee contusion), the scoring was remarkably a shared entity Saturday. After Durant’s 16 points, there was 20 from Klay Thompson, 14 from Shaun Livingston, 13 from Draymond Green, 16 from JaVale McGee, 17 from Ian Clark and 15 from Andre Iguodala, who continued his aggressiveness on offense. Thompson has now scored 20 points or more in 15 of his last 16 games. He hit a buzzer-beater to cap off a 39 point third quarter for Golden State.
Matt Barnes injured his right ankle/foot. The Warriors are calling it a sprain and X-Rays came back negative. Barnes did not return to action. Prior to the game, Kerr said the 37-year-old will definitely have a role in the playoffs, and compared him to a workhorse starting pitcher in baseball during a pregame interview.
Sans Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins, New Orleans trailed by just 8 points at halftime. But the Warriors boat-raced the undermanned Pelicans with a 13-4 run in the third quarter. The win marks the Warriors’ 14th in a row.
The Utah Jazz fly to town Monday for the second to last game of the regular season.