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Kevin Durant had his best all-around performance on a Golden State uniform on Tuesday night, when the Warriors handed the L.A. Clippers a 120-75 mauling.
The Dubs' starters got off to a great start offensively and nullified the Clippers' scoring, limiting them to 33 points in the first half and 25% shooting from the floor.
“We didn't play well in Vancouver the other night,” said head coach Steve Kerr in his post-game conference. “We didn't have a great practice yesterday and I think our guys just felt a little sense of urgency to step it up defensively. And this is the Clippers first game, they looked like we did in our first game in Vancouver. They didn't have their antenna up like we did and that's why we got off to such a big lead.”
The 6-foot-9 small forward tallied 21 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists in a well-rounded effort through a team-high 24 minutes of action. He shot 3-of-4 on threes, 6-of-10 from the floor, and a perfect 6-of-6 from the stripe.
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“I thought Kevin's movement without the ball was really big,” said Kerr. “This is kind of a different style for him, a different system. I thought he did a good job tonight of moving, cutting, keeping the defense occupied. And what you see is, when you have that kind of movement with that kind of shooting then it's tough to guard.”
Durant also nabbed a steal and blocked a couple of shots, rounding out a great performance on both ends.
“We found out in the playoffs last year how devastating Kevin can be defensively,” said Kerr. “He was a force. Draymond (Green) generally has an advantage over anybody he plays with his speed and quickness and he didn't have that advantage against KD, that's one of the reasons we had such trouble in that series and barely survived. So Kevin's defense when he applies himself is really, really good.”
Durant's length was put on display early in the first quarter when he blocked a corner three-point attempt by Luc Mbah a Moute, who he held without a field goal.
“Our defense is gonna have to be our calling card,” he added. “It just makes our offense much easier so we can just get up and run. If we're taking the ball out of the net every time, it becomes a much more difficult game.”
