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Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr hit the nail on the head when he analyzed what went wrong in their 108-104 loss to the Phoenix Suns on opening night on Tuesday.
“Their (Suns) offensive rebounds were killers,” Kerr told reporters postgame.
The Warriors lost an 88-80 lead at the start of the fourth quarter. The Suns suddenly got red-hot, fueled by their offensive rebounding. An 11-0 run wiped out the Warriors lead. During that attack, the Suns had five second-chance points on three offensive rebounds to briefly take a 91-88 lead.
It became a tightly contested match until Josh Okogie and Eric Gordon hit back-to-back 3-pointers. The Suns took a 106-101 lead with 45 seconds left.
The Warriors fell short. And they looked short.
Phoenix was plus-11 in the rebounding department. Though the Warriors grabbed more offensive rebounds, 18-17, the way and the timing of the Suns’ killed their momentum.
In the decisive fourth quarter, the Suns grabbed six offensive boards and had 10 second-chance points. It was enough to overhaul the Warrior’s lead and fend off their last-ditch rally.
“Well, there were a lot of long rebounds, and it felt like they were beating us to the ball,” said Kerr while pointing out the long rebounds at the elbow. “They got some some length and some athleticism that definitely factored in.”
Which the Warriors don’t have.
Kevin Durant Believes Warriors Should Retire His Jersey
Kevin Durant dropped a double-double (18 points, 11 rebounds) in his return to the Bay Area since he left the Warriors in the summer of 2019.
Before he helped the Suns beat the Warriors, Durant reacted to Joe Lacob’s statement that no other player will ever wear Durant’s No. 35 as long as he is a co-chairman of the team.
“He should,” Durant told Andscape’s Marc Spears. “Look at the résumé. That would warrant me to get a jersey retirement, right?”
“Do I want to be honored by a franchise I put work in for? Of course, I would love that. I had some great moments there. I built some solid relationships there. Yeah, man. Hell yeah, that would be sweet. I love that organization, man. I love my time there, seriously. Me leaving, people shouldn’t doubt that because I left there,” he continued.
Durant joined the Warriors after his Oklahoma City Thunder squandered a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference Finals. The Warriors won two championships, with Durant earning Finals MVP in both runs.
Draymond Green Sits Out Season Opener
Draymond Green did not play as he was still recovering from a left lateral ankle sprain he suffered three days before training camp. But the good news is Green was already cleared to do 5-on-5 practice.
It will only be a matter of time before he makes his season debut.
Green signed a $100 million, four-year deal to return to the Warriors after he thought his time at the Bay is over. It turned out the Warriors valued him more than Jordan Poole, whom he punched last season, leading to an awkward season and ending in a second-round exit.
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