Durant gets first triple-double with Warriors, win over Mavs
Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors drives on Justin Anderson #1 of the Dallas Mavericks at ORACLE Arena on December 30, 2016 in Oakland, California. AFP
OAKLAND, California—Kevin Durant notched his first triple-double for Golden State with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists and first in more than a year, leading the Warriors past the Dallas Mavericks 108-99 on Friday night.
Durant’s eighth career triple-double was his first since Dec. 10, 2015, against Atlanta. Klay Thompson scored 17 of his 29 points in the third quarter and finished with five 3-pointers and Stephen Curry added 14 points.
Harrison Barnes, who spent the past four seasons in a key role with Golden State, scored 25 points for Dallas against his old team.
In the first quarter, Curry (11,903) passed Purvis Short (11,894) for seventh place on the Warriors’ all-time scoring list.
Draymond Green had 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in Golden State’s ninth straight home win against the Mavericks, the Warriors’ streak longest ever.
There was some Curry vs. Curry in this one, with Stephen guarding brother Seth and vice versa for short stints.
Thompson has 78 3-pointers against the Mavs, his most against any opponent. The Warriors began 3 for 10 from long range but wound up 11 for 33.
Dirk Nowitzki, who had been questionable coming in with an illness, scored 11 points on 3-for-12 shooting in 23-plus minutes for Dallas.
Warriors reigning NBA Coach of the Year Steve Kerr, for one, is ready for 2017 given his health issues following complications from two back surgeries last year that still affect him.
But he doesn’t need to change his routine. Nor his star-studded roster.
“I’m not a resolution guy,” he said. “I go to the gym every day, I don’t just go to the gym the first 10 days of January.”
Two pairs of Stephen Curry’s special shoes were auctioned off to raise $45,201 to aid the Oakland Fire Relief fund following the deadly Dec. 2 Ghost Ship warehouse fire in nearby Oakland. The “Oakland Strong” shoes worn in a game by the MVP were taken for $30,101 by an anonymous bidder, while his pregame “Ghost Ship” grafitti-style pair went for $15,100 also to an anonymous bidder.
“I’m always very proud of Steph and all of our guys. They put some money together as a group, the team did, to donate to the fund,” Kerr said.
