Golden State Warriors Blog – Page 48 – NBA Blog

Clippers beat Warriors in Game 7, advance to second round

When the final buzzer sounded on the longest two weeks of the Los Angeles Clippers’ careers, they felt more exhaustion than elation. While coach Doc Rivers high-fived fans and pumped his fist at the crowd, Blake Griffin and Chris Paul quietly congratulated each other.

They had just persevered through seven exhausting playoff games amid enormous distractions leading to their owner’s lifetime banishment from the NBA.

A franchise that once redefined losing was a winner despite it all – and there’s no telling how much farther these new Clippers can go.

Griffin scored 24 points, Paul had 22 points and 14 assists, and the Clippers outlasted the Golden State Warriors 126-121 in Game 7 on Saturday night to win their first-round playoff series…

Jamal Crawford scored 22 points for the third-seeded Clippers, who earned the franchise’s third playoff series win in 38 years with the highest degree of off-court difficulty imaginable…

Stephen Curry had 33 points and nine assists, but Golden State blew a lead with 2:10 left in Game 7. Draymond Green scored 24 points for the Warriors, who lost their first Game 7 since 1977 and failed to advance in consecutive postseasons for the first time since that same year…

Redick scored 20 points for the Clippers, and Jordan put in a stellar low-post performance for the two-time Pacific Division champions.

— Associated Press

Jermaine O`Neal has bone bruise in knee, questionable for Game 7

Golden State Warriors center Jermaine O’Neal underwent an MRI earlier today that revealed a bone bruise of his right knee cap. He is listed as questionable for tomorrow night’s Game 7 of the team’s First Round series versus the Los Angeles Clippers.

O’Neal suffered the injury at the 9:39 mark of the 2nd quarter of last night’s 100-99 Game 6 victory when Clippers forward Glen Davis crashed into him.

Warriors go small, beat Clippers in Game 4

Here’s the San Francisco Chronicle Blog reporting on the Golden State Warriors, who took care of business and tied their first-round playoff series with the Los Angeles Clippers Sunday:

For the first time in their best-of-seven, first-round series against the Clippers, the Warriors started a small lineup in Game 4 at Oracle Arena – a move that allowed them to play quicker and with more assertiveness, freed Stephen Curry for offensive openings and tied the series with a with a resounding 118-97 victory.

With the series knotted 2-2 and shifting back to Los Angeles for Tuesday’s Game 5, the Clippers are suddenly the team pressing to make adjustments – a marked change from two days ago, when they appeared to have all of the answers and all of the momentum.

Draymond Green got his second career postseason start and his first this season – bumping David Lee to center and moving Jermaine O’Neal to the bench – and helped the Warriors grab a lead that the held for the game’s final 45 minutes, 54 seconds.

Using mostly a smallball lineup throughout the game, the Warriors’ offense showcased harmonious ball movement to create space for Curry’s game-changing shooting stroke and produced team-wide 55.4 percent shooting and 32 assists on 41 made field goals.

Warriors still pursuing new arena in San Francisco — but it will not be waterfront

Here’s the San Francisco Chronicle with a report on the Warriors and their San Francisco arena plans:

Plan for San Francisco waterfront Warriors arena gets ditched

The Golden State Warriors have abandoned their plan to build an arena on Piers 30-32 just south of the Bay Bridge and instead have purchased a site in San Francisco’s burgeoning Mission Bay to hold a new 18,000-seat venue.

The Warriors bought the 12-acre site from Salesforce.com at an undisclosed price in a deal signed Saturday night, said Rick Welts, the Warriors’ president and chief operating officer. The team plans to have the arena ready for the 2018-19 NBA season.

The shift in location provides the Warriors with predictability and fewer regulatory hurdles. It also eliminates any need for voter approval, which may have become necessary for the Pier 30-32 venue that Mayor Ed Lee once called “my legacy project.”

The change has assuaged some of the project’s most vocal critics, who opposed building a 125-foot-high arena near the Embarcadero amid concerns about traffic, environmental harm during construction and blocked views of the Bay Bridge…

The Warriors will own the site outright, rather than leasing it from the Port of San Francisco, and the team says the arena will be entirely privately financed – a rare instance of a modern sports venue that would use no taxpayer funds or public land.

The new site off Third Street does not, however, have the iconic feel and stunning views of the Bay Bridge. Instead, the view is of a dry dock, an industrial pier and rusting old pilings that dot the water. Visible across the bay are the cranes and skyline of Oakland, the Warriors’ home after the team played in San Francisco from 1962 to 1971.

The Warriors’ planned arena is part of a redevelopment area and growing biotech hub, with a UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital being built diagonally across from the arena site.

Video: Some Stephen Curry highlights from 2013-14 season

Here’s a video of 2013-14 season highlights from Warriors guard Stephon Curry:

David Lee back for Warriors at the right time

Here’s the Bay Area News Group, via the San Jose Mercury news, reporting on the Golden State Warriors, who are 50-31 entering tonight, the final day of the NBA regular season. The Warriors qualified for the playoffs, which begin Saturday.

Within hours of the discouraging news about Andrew Bogut, the Warriors got an encouraging report from another corner of the medical department: David Lee was looking like his old self.

Lee scored 25 points and had nine rebounds Monday night against Minnesota, a far cry from what was thought to be possible a week ago. At that time there was doubt that the 6-foot-10 forward would be able to help the Warriors much down the stretch or in the playoffs because of a hamstring pull that was complicated by severe nerve pain. Lee missed seven games after suffering the injury on March 22 against San Antonio, and he didn’t seem to be making much progress.

Even when he returned to action last Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers and then again Sunday in Portland, Lee didn’t look himself. He made only four of 12 shots against L.A. even though he did get 10 rebounds, but appeared to regress against the Trail Blazers. He made just 2 of 9 shots despite playing 33 minutes, had only four rebounds and fouled out while trying to contend with Portland power forward LaMarcus Aldridge.

But lo and behold, on the tail end of a back-to-back no less, Lee miraculously found his footing Monday after a rough start defensively against Minnesota’s Kevin Love. He started hitting some of his patented post-ups and mid-range jumpers, and also worked the boards and ran the floor much more effectively than he had during his first two games back.

Warriors center Andrew Bogut injured, out with rib fracture

$Warriors center Andrew Bogut injured, out with rib fracture$

Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut has been diagnosed with a rib fracture and will be sidelined indefinitely. The injury, which occurred during the fourth quarter of Golden State’s overtime loss to the Portland Trail Blazers last night, was revealed in x-rays taken immediately after the game and confirmed today by the team’s medical staff.

In 67 games this season, Bogut is averaging 7.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.81 blocks in 26.4 minutes, while shooting 62.7 percent from the floor.

Warriors sign Hilton Armstrong for remainder of season

The Golden State Warriors have signed center Hilton Armstrong for the remainder of the season, the team announced today.

Armstrong, 29, has appeared in 12 games with Golden State this season, averaging 1.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in 5.3 minutes. He originally signed with the Warriors as a free agent on Dec. 11 before being waived on Dec. 29 and subsequently signed a 10-day contract with Golden State on Feb. 22, and a second 10-day contract on March 30.

In addition to his time with Golden State, the 6-11 center has appeared in 32 games (23 starts) with the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League this season, averaging 12.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.75 blocks in 26.2 minutes while hitting 55.9 percent from the field.

Warriors fire assistant coach Darren Erman

The Golden State Warriors have relieved Assistant Coach Darren Erman of his duties with the organization due to a violation of company policy, it was announced today. Erman, 37, was in his third season with the Warriors after spending four years with the Boston Celtics.

It is not yet known what actual violation took place.

“This is the type of decision that would be made across the board and irrespective of position within the organization,” said Warriors’ General Manager Bob Myers. “Obviously, the timing is unfortunate, but we hold all of our employees, whether in Basketball Operations or other aspects of the business, accountable for their actions and to the same standard. We move forward and thank Darren for his contributions.”

Another Warriors assistant coach, former NBA player Brian Scalabrine, was recently demoted.

The team is 47-29 and close to clinching a Western conference playoff berth.

According to the Bay Area News Group, “Head coach Mark Jackson said he remained confident in his staff, which now is down to three assistant coaches following his decision to remove Scalabrine from the bench last week due to a “difference in philosophies” along with Erman’s firing. “He made a mistake,” Jackson said of Erman. “He owns it. He’s done a lot for me. He’s done a lot for this organization, and I’m pulling for him to make a comeback. I’m pulling for him to move on and become a great coach, and I believe that can happen. “It’s just tough. I’m pulling for him. The right decision was made, and we move forward, but certainly I’m pulling for him to bounce back and get back on the road that he was on.”

Warriors sign Hilton Armstrong to 10-day contract

The Golden State Warriors have signed free agent center Hilton Armstrong to a 10-day contract as a Call-Up from the Warriors’ NBA Development League affiliate in Santa Cruz, the team announced today.

Armstrong, 29, has appeared in 32 games (23 starts) with the Santa Cruz Warriors this season, averaging 12.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.75 blocks (seventh-best in the D-League) in 28.2 minutes while hitting 55.9 percent from the field (ninth). The 6-11 center has played in eight games with Golden State over two separate stints (December 11–29/February 22-March 3) this season, averaging 2.3 rebounds in 4.4 minutes.

Originally selected by the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets with the 12th overall pick of the 2006 NBA Draft, Armstrong has played in six NBA seasons with the Hornets (2006-09), Sacramento Kings (2009-10), Houston Rockets (2009-10), Washington Wizards (2010-11), Atlanta Hawks (2010-2011) and Warriors, owning career averages of 3.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in 11.6 minutes over 285 games (39 starts). He has also played professionally with ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne in France, Panathinaikos in Greece and Changsha Bank Guangdong in China.

He will wear uniform #57.