OAKLAND -- After a tight first quarter, the Warriors ran a basketball clinic on the San Antonio Spurs and cruised to a 141-102 victory Wednesday night at Oracle Arena.
Six players scored in double figures, led by Klay Thompson (26 points) and Kevin Durant (23) as the Warriors moved to 38-15 and a 1.5-game lead over the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference.
The game was never in doubt after Warriors throwback unit, the “Hamptons 5” -- Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala, Draymond Green, Thompson and Durant -- went on a 13-2 run over the final 2:50 of the first half to give the Warriors a 66-52 advantage.
Here are three takeaways from the victory, the fourth time this season the Warriors have won by at least 30 points -- all in the past four weeks:
Durant sends a message: Durant, who has been verbally quieter than at any time in his Warriors career, spoke loudly with his game from the start, making his first six shots and scoring 15 points in the first quarter.
He was more physically demonstrative than he has been of late and submitted his most efficient shooting game since Dec. 3 at Atlanta
Durant’s 23 points came on 9-of-13 shooting, including 3-of-4 from deep while going 2-of-2 from the line. He played 29 minutes and finished plus-28.
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If he was out to prove a point -- that his demeanor is not an issue, as the Warriors have been contending -- he was a rousing success.
Boogie’s Night, Part VIII: In his eighth game since returning Jan. 18, Cousins continued to show progress, scoring 15 points (3-of-6 from the field, 0-of-2 from beyond the arc), grabbing six rebounds, handing out three assists and blocking two shots.
Cousins played only 17 minutes -- the Warriors took a 32-point lead into the fourth quarter -- and finished plus-8.
Cousins took another hard fall, after which he was limping slightly. He remained in the game, however.
Iguodala’s massive impact: One of the most reliable barometers of how the Warriors are playing is the effectiveness of Iguodala. He was highly, highly effective at both ends on Wednesday.
Iguodala scored 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 1-of-3 from beyond the arc. He added six rebounds, four assists and, by rough estimate, about eight "hockey assists". He played 19 minutes and finished a whopping plus-36.
