Draymond apologizes after Poole 'altercation', Warriors say

Golden State star Draymond Green apologized to teammates on Thursday after reportedly aiming a punch at Jordan Poole during practice, Warriors general manager Bob Myers confirmed.

Myers did not go into details about the skirmish during a practice on Wednesday, but said reports of an "altercation" between Green and Poole were accurate.

"As you know yesterday, as reported, there was an altercation. The people that were reported to be in it, that's accurate," Myers said.

"Everybody's fine ... Look, it's the NBA – professional sports, these things happen. Nobody likes it, we don't condone it, but it happened."

Myers said Poole had practiced normally on Thursday while Green sat out the session.

The Warriors chief would not go into details of what discipline Green would face.

"Draymond apologized to the team this morning," Myers said. "As far as any suspension or fine, we'll handle that internally."

Myers, meanwhile, insisted that the NBA champions' pre-season preparations were progressing smoothly despite the incident.

"I've actually seen a really good group, one of the best vibes that we've had in my 12 years here in terms of camp, mental health and camaraderie," Myers said.

"It's unfortunate and I'm not going to deny it. It will take some time to move through, but we'll move through it.

"This isn't our first sense of adversity. We've gone through some of this before. We don't like going through it but it's part of the NBA and part of sports."

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Jordan Poole leads way in Warriors' rout of Nuggets

SAN FRANCISCO -- Golden State's Stephen Curry made a triumphant return from a left foot sprain on Saturday as the Warriors, led by Jordan Poole's 30 points, routed Denver 123-107 in an NBA playoff opener.

All-Star guard Curry, sidelined since March 16 with the injury, had 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the floor (3-of-6 from 3-point range) with three rebounds, four assists and a steal over 22 minutes off the bench as the host Warriors took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven first-round series.

"Everything was smooth for the most part," Curry said. "It was nice to get back out there, to feel the playoff vibe again. It was nice to just be out there with my guys. It was a step in the right direction."

Curry said he had no expectations about when he might start again.

"I can hopefully provide a lot of energy off the bench," Curry said. "We have to keep things simple, be decisive, have confidence in each other. JP is a part of that now."

Poole hit 9-of-13 from the floor and 5-of-7 from 3-point range in his playoff debut.

"It was good to get the first one under the belt," said Poole. "Just taking what they gave me, being patient and trying to be as aggressive as possible."

Klay Thompson added 19 points and praised Poole, saying: "He's incredible, a star in the making. He's just going to keep getting better."

Other NBA playoff openers Saturday saw the Utah Jazz outlast Dallas 99-93, Philadelphia defeat Toronto 131-111 and Minnesota upset Memphis 130-117.

Curry started 0-for-5, got his first basket on a goaltending call off a drive to the hoop and played 12 minutes in the first half.

"I like the way he approached the game," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "He found his rhythm as the game went on. It was a really good first game back for him and will set the table for what's to come."

Having Curry back was a thrill for Thompson, who missed more than two full seasons with injuries before returning to Golden State in January.

"He's still Steph Curry and he still made huge shots for us," Thompson said. "The threat of him being out there is the best. It makes us a championship team."

The Warriors closed the first half on an 18-4 run for a 58-47 edge and pulled away in the third quarter.

"The key stretch was the end of the second quarter," Nuggets coach Mike Malone said. "We can't beat ourselves and the Warriors in the same game."

Serbian big man Nikola Jokic, last year's NBA Most Valuable Player, led Denver with 25 points.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Curry propels Warriors to win over Clippers

LOS ANGELES -- Stephen Curry came alive late as the Golden State Warriors shook off a sloppy start to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 105-90 and post their seventh straight NBA victory.

With both teams turning the ball over and missing shots it was close at halftime, the Warriors leading 44-42 on the Clippers' home floor.

Golden State extended that lead with an 11-2 scoring burst to open the third quarter, and never trailed in the second half, posting their 42nd straight game with at least 100 points scored.

It looked like that streak might end, but Curry scored 13 points in the final frame as the Warriors pushed the lead to as many as 21 points after seeing it dwindle to just two late in the third period.

Jordan Poole scored 17 points, including three in less than two minutes late in the third as the Warriors withstood a 30-point performance from Los Angeles star Paul George.

Curry, incensed at not getting a foul call as he drove for a layup with 9:11 left in the fourth, received a technical foul for yelling at a referee.

The moment appeared to galvanize the Warriors superstar, who finished by shooting 53.8% from the field while handing out six assists and pulling down five rebounds.

"It was kind of a B.S. T (technical foul)," Curry said, adding: "You have those moments and decisions of where you're going to put your energy at, and obviously I thought I got fouled so I wanted to let the emotions out and then you let it go and then you just play basketball.

"For me individually and for our team, I think we fueled off of that and just worried about putting the ball in the basket and that's when the avalanche started."

Curry also came up with six of the Warriors' 19 steals as 24 turnovers proved costly to the Clippers.

By the time Curry checked out of the game plenty of fans in the Staples Center crowd were cheering him.

Curry's 28.6 points per game lead the league this season, and with seven three-pointers on the day he has reached 100 three-pointers with just 19 games under his belt in the campaign.

The Warriors, whose 18-2 record leads the league, face a marquee matchup on Tuesday against western Conference challengers Phoenix, who have won 16 straight on the way to a 17-3 record.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins combine for 65 in Warriors' win

Canadian-born Andrew Wiggins caught fire against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night, scorching the net for six 3-pointers in a 32-point performance that propelled the Golden State Warriors to a 119-104 home victory in a rematch of the 2019 Finals.

Jordan Poole went one better than Wiggins with 33 points for the Warriors, who won a fourth straight despite getting just 12 points on 2-for-10 shooting from Stephen Curry.

Pascal Siakam had 21 points for the Raptors, who lost for the seventh time in their last nine games.

Wiggins, who was born in Toronto and has gone on to become the NBA's leading scorer from Canada in his first eight NBA seasons, propelled Golden State to a lead it would never relinquish with two 3-pointers, a three-point play and a dunk in a 16-5 game-opening flurry.

The third-year Warrior wound up 6-for-8 on 3-pointers and 12-for-20 overall en route to his second 30-point outing of the season.

The Warriors led by as many as 20 in the first quarter and retained at least a nine-point advantage the rest of the way on the way to an eighth straight home win.

The Raptors, who beat Golden State in six games for the 2019 title, managed to hang within 103-93 after a Fred VanVleet 3-pointer with 7:16 to play. But Poole nailed his seventh 3-pointer of the night and Otto Porter added another from beyond the arc, allowing the Western Conference front-runner to pull away.

Poole finished 8-for-11 on 3-pointers, a career-high number that made him just the seventh in Warriors history to make eight or more in a game. Curry has done it 66 times, Klay Thompson 13.

The Warriors finished 22-for-45 from deep, outscoring the Raptors 66-45 on threes.

Draymond Green chipped in with a game-high 14 rebounds, eight assists and four points for the Warriors, while Kevon Looney also reached double figures in boards with 10 to complement seven points. Curry tied Green for game-high assist honors with eight.

Porter recorded all 15 of his points off the bench on 3-pointers for Golden State, while Chris Chiozza was a fifth Warrior scoring in double figures with 11.

VanVleet totaled with 17 points and a team-high seven assists for the Raptors, who have lost three of four to start a six-game trip.

Precious Achiuwa went for 12 points, Gary Trent Jr. 11, and Scottie Barnes and Chris Boucher 10 apiece for Toronto. Barnes completed a double-double with a team-high 13 rebounds.

-reuters-

NBA: Jordan Poole goes for 32 as Warriors win in Detroit

Jordan Poole scored a season-high 32 points and the short-handed Golden State Warriors held off the host Detroit Pistons 105-102 on Friday.

Andrew Wiggins had 27 points and Nemanja Bjelica tossed in 14 off the bench. Gary Payton II added 12 points for the Warriors.

Golden State was missing several key players, including two-time Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry. The league's leading scorer at 29.5 points per game, Curry did not play due to a left hip contusion. 

Draymond Green was inactive due to a right thigh contusion, while Andre Iguodala (right knee soreness) and Otto Porter Jr. (left foot injury management) also sat out.

Reserve Frank Jackson led the Pistons with a season-high 27 points. Jerami Grant and Cade Cunningham had 19 points apiece for Detroit, and Hamidou Diallo added 10 points.

Pistons center Isaiah Stewart suffered a right ankle injury contesting a shot early in the second half and did not return.

Golden State led 17-4 midway through the first quarter as Detroit missed 10 straight shots. Poole finished the quarter with 11 points, but Detroit pulled within 26-23 by period's end.

Poole matched that total in the second quarter as the Warriors carried a 56-51 lead into the second half. Jackson provided the spark for the Pistons with 16 first-half points off the bench.

The Warriors led by six midway through the third quarter, then reeled off seven unanswered points.

Chris Chiozza's 3-pointer with the shot clock expiring gave the Warriors an 81-68 advantage late in the quarter. He drained another one in the closing seconds as Golden State carried an 86-70 lead into the fourth.

Bjelica's layup two minutes into the final period made it 91-77. Poole reached the 30-point mark with a reverse layup with 4:58 left to give Golden State a 101-87 lead. He surpassed his previous season high of 31 points when he made a baseline runner with just over three minutes left.

Detroit pulled within 104-100 on two Cunningham free throws with 1:43 left. Grant's two free throws with 33.3 seconds left cut Golden State's lead to three. However, Grant and Jackson each missed a potential tying 3-pointer in the closing seconds.

-reuters-