GSW·2012-13| WEEK 6: Dec 2- 8, 2012 + Player Profiles

Bucks In Headlights, Azubuike's Driving

Dec 21, 2011 Oakland, CA (AP) -- Kelenna Azubuike bounced back from injury with a vengeance scoring a game-high 29-points to lead Golden State over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks 110-94.

Oracle Arena was rocking as the crowd cheered Azubuike's return and his 11-point opening quarter to lead the Warriors early charge. Teammates found the 5-year pro small forward early and often as he spaced the floor and connected on his first 2-2 from downtown then proceeded to drive the paint and draw fouls.

"(Azu)Buike was like a man possessed tonight," said Warriors head coach, Avery Johnson.

Brandon Jennings and Michael Redd settled down to spark a run as the Bucks began the second period trailing by 11. The duo combined for 23 points and 7 assists but could not cool down the red-hot Azubuike who finished the first half with 17 points.

Starting the third quarter, the Bucks looked inside to Andrew Bogut who poured on the offense during the second half and pulled Milwaukee within 10 with his low-post domination.

But an outstanding overall defensive effort by Golden State clamped down on Bogut and the Bucks, limiting them to a mere 18 points in the final quarter to seal the win. Bogut finished with a team-high 25 points as well as 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Azubuike finished an inspiring 29 point, 4 rebound, 3 assist effort plus one steal and block a piece.

"Guys knew I was frustrated and struggling with nagging injuries lately, so they really looked for me tonight… but in the end, it was our overall team play and defense that won this game," Azubuike humbly told the press after the match.

It may be the holiday season, but Golden State is showing no signs of taking time off. A stunning 15-8, the Warriors have taken a half-game lead over the Lakers to lead the Pacific Division, their best start since the magical, "We Believe!" playoff run of 2007. Golden State now trails the San Antonio Spurs by a game and a half, who currently lead the Western Conference at 17-7.


Jennings and Redd combined for 24 points, but none sweeter than these two | Azubuike and Bogut carried their respective teams this night


He only scored 4, but rookie Brantt 'Maverick' Dvorak put on a show with this vintage Air Jordanesque baseline crowd pleaser

Awesome win! It's always awesome when an unexpected player lights up.

Bogut killed you, but sweet job containing Redd and Jennings. And 'Buike was incredible!

Damn, you humiliated them.

Huge win, ridiculous first quarter. Good to see Azubuike trying to prove the doubters wrong.

Creative title, I like it. Bogut was the only dominant Buck, but Jennings and Redd's off games look like nothing compared to Salmons and Bell's struggles.

Awesome win! It's always awesome when an unexpected player lights up.

unexpected is definitely the word; he's been struggling and everytime he got fouled i thought for sure he'd be doubled-over holding his arm or knee; was glad to see Buike get through a game much less dominate like he did!

Bogut killed you, but sweet job containing Redd and Jennings. And 'Buike was incredible!

Noah's been letting opposing bigs go off; i'll need to get my assistant coach targeted on his Defense... Buike's big night couldn't have come at a better time with his head on the chopping block;

Damn, you humiliated them.

Nah, the Bucks did a fine job of doing that to themselves

Huge win, ridiculous first quarter. Good to see Azubuike trying to prove the doubters wrong.

I remember being at Warriors game when they ran a 40-pt first, and 75... by halftime! this game had that same feel, at least initially;

Creative title, I like it. Bogut was the only dominant Buck, but Jennings and Redd's off games look like nothing compared to Salmons and Bell's struggles.

thx hype; yeah, Salmon's night was particularly ugly alright lol

Was that against the Suns a couple of years back? I might've seen that one.

for some reason i want to say a Yao-less Rockets but it could've been Phoenix... or Dallas? was some yrs ago and in fact might've been the "We Believe!" season; memory fails me arrrrgh

Knicks In Town? Noah Problem

Dec 23, 2011 Oakland, CA (AP) -- The Golden State Warriors continued their winning ways in a 116-100 trouncing of the visiting New York Knicks at Oracle Arena.

The contest's outcome was never in question as the Warriors never trailed, while New York's porous defense allowed Golden State to build an 8 point lead after the opening quarter and unload for 69 total points in the first half alone. Joakim Noah got off to a fast start with 12 points, 6 rebounds and a block in the first quarter.

Asked if establishing the inside game early on was the plan coming into tonight's game, coach Johnson replied, "No, not really. Sure, we run a few set plays right off the bat… but I trust Steph (Curry) to recognize what's going on out there on the court, know who's hot or who's not, and make the right decisions."

The Knicks would rally to make up some of the difference in the fourth quarter under the scoring of veteran swingman Tracy McGrady; but by then Golden State had led by as many as 25 points, maintained full momentum with solid bench play and had most of their starters pulled and resting the remainder of the match.

McGrady finished with a team-high 19 points for New York while cousin Vince Carter would lead the way for Golden State with 26 points on 11-17 shooting. Joakim Noah ended a terrific night with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks.

"Just too many weapons," Knicks coach, Mike D'Antoni told reporters. "Our team struggles when playing from behind as it is, so it's tougher when you're facing a deep, up-tempo team like that, where any player can have a big impact on any given night."

The Warriors (16-8) will attempt to keep their 2-game win streak alive traveling to Oklahoma for a special Christmas Eve showdown versus Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder (13-12). Barring a post-season collison, this will be the 4th and final meeting between these two teams, with Golden State winning a convincing 3-0 and looking for the regular season sweep.


It was all about trying to stop Noah this night… operative word? trying | TMAC doing what he could but it's not enough

AIRzubuike takes 2010 #1 draftpick Brandon Baylor to the rack | Not to be upstaged, Carter makes a difficult two look effortless

Awesome win, that first half proved to be a key point to the game. VC showed T-Mac who's the better cousin.

High FG% for all Noah, 'Buike, VC = win. Keep it up man! Also loving VC breaking T-Mac's ankle pic.

Fine win, great to see Noah put up some big numbers.

right now the team's playing great so really tough to consider any roster shifts atm (though the temptation to mirror RL trades always grows the closer it gets to the new season); we'll see how things are by Feb (in-game)

Understandable. I think you should stick with it for now but if the team starts to struggle, look to change things up by making some real life acquisitions.

Another sweet dynasty, Clutch. Hope to see some updates soon.

Andrew, sounds like a solid plan to me

MC5! longtime no hear and thx for chiming in; been swamped as of late so this dynasty's slowed to a crawl atm; definitely continuing as i really enjoy my team's make up so count on further installments but just at a slower, gotta-take-of-priorities-first pace

Dazzling Durant Ends Warriors' Steak

Dec 24, 2011 Oklahoma City, OK (AP) - Golden State's regular season dominance over the Thunder and their 2-game win streak came to an end in a fast-paced, high-scoring 127-134 Christmas Eve scorefest.

It wasn't that the Warriors played poorly; the Thunder just played better, opening with a 33-25 1st-quarter for the early lead. "They're an explosive team offensively," said Oklahoma's star forward, Kevin Durant. "They pull ahead early? they can bury you; so we tried to push the tempo and have them play catch-up for a change."

Controlling the pace of the game is exactly what Durant did, showcasing stellar playmaking skills with an obscene 11 assists, while dropping a mere 26 points to lead OKC in scoring. No doubt his willingness to share led to the Thunder's high offensive output which saw 7 players reach double-figure scoring.

The Warriors did respond to the early deficit, clawing back to shave 5 points from the lead to trail 58-61 at halftime then continuing their onslaught into the 3rd-quarter to take a 3 point advantage heading into the final quarter.

But Golden State's lead was fleeting, thanks in part to the strong bench play by James Harden (22 points) and recent acquisitions Dorrel Wright and Josh Boone (15 points combined on a perfect 7-7) which allowed the Thunder starters extended rest, thus fresher legs and a 44 point 4th-quarter detonation.

"They kicked on the afterburners and we couldn't keep up," Vince Carter told reporters after the loss. "Guys were still scoring but we laxed defensively and that's where they hurt us."

Carter only had 14 points but led the Warriors with 11 assists. Despite the loss, Anthony 'Meal Ticket' Randolph continued his terrific play against Oklahoma City with a team-high 26 points while OKC's other headliner, Dwyane Wade, had a relatively quiet night contributing 16 points and 6 assists.

The Warriors will have Christmas day off but are right back at it the following evening defending home turf at Oakland's Oracle Arena. With the loss to Oklahoma City, the 16-9 Warriors slip half a game behind their coming opponent, the 17-8 current defending champion Dallas Mavericks who are currently riding a 5-game win steak.



Westbrook had a terrific night just shy of a double-double with 19 pts, 9 asts | KD tags Noah cleanly in an all-around showcase of mad skills

Harden's attacking offense off the bench energized the Thunder and their crowd while exhausting would-be Golden State defenders

That game must've been pretty exciting. High-scoring affairs aren't surprising for the Warriors. Kevin Durant struck you there, but you know what they say, Thunder doesn't strike twice in the same place.

Good luck against the Mavs.

Tough loss man. The Thunder in this dynasty are like the Heat in real life.

An unstoppable Durant, tough loss. Both Joakim and Meal Ticket were superb.

It's only a 2 game streak man, I know your team can bounce back. Hope to see more updates

What a fourth quarter! Hard luck coming up short but by no means a shameful effort by the Warriors in that one. Great game by Noah, if some of those shots had been falling for Curry and Carter you probably would've had that one.

I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that the "would-be Golden State defender" pictured is one Vince Carter. I mean, it would have been better if he was rolling around on the ground clutching some body part no one had touched, but still good.

Also, tough, but probably expected loss. KD/Wade/Westbrook? Ridicu-lonku-donku-lous.

MC5 - Hah! Spoken like a true Raptors fan

Andrew - 4th qtr was wild indeed; couldn't believe how OKC clicked to a higher lvl once Wade returned to the floor, though their reserves did a great job buying some quality rest time him and other starters;

dare - any amount of games we can stitch together works for me

Thierry - yeah, aside from Sean Williams' 7 minutes of nothingness, all my bigs did well in fact;

Lamrock - OKC's good but interestingly enough they're not as dominant as they look on paper; maybe just a few key role players away from being a super power;

Axel13 - defnitely an exciting match and rare that the GSW's get outscored in a shootout; schedule-wise, that's the last i'll see of Durant & co. this season (barring a post-season clash) but other than this last one, we've kicked their asses lol