By Art Spander
For Maven Sports
MINNEAPOLIS — It was the right call, but it came at an awful time. A shooting foul, on a 3-point attempt no less, with roughly a half-second to play.
Copyright 2019, The Maven
By Art Spander
For Maven Sports
MINNEAPOLIS — It’s gray and gloomy, which is not unusual this time of year in Minnesota; perfect weather for walking through the enclosed passageways from one downtown building to another — gerbil tunnels, they’re called — or hosting an NCAA final that doesn’t seem like an NCAA final.
Copyright 2019, The Maven
By Art Spander
OAKLAND — This is what happens when a good team — well, the best team until proven differently, and it wasn’t proven Tuesday night — decides to pull up its socks, shut down the opposition and shut up a few critics.
Decides to play with the skill, passion and verve — and arrogance — of a champion.
It stumbles around for a minute or two, then locks in on the task at hand, showing everyone, most of all the other team that, hey guys, we’ve only been teasing the last month or so. The coach said this one is important. So let’s take his advice to heart.
You were worried about the Warriors? Relax. “The guys were ready to play,” said Warrior coach Steve Kerr. Ready and willing, and able to crush the Denver Nuggets, 116-99, to all but keep the Nuggets from the NBA Western Conference title the Warriors will regain.
They’ve been playing with a vengeance the last few games, physical and verbal, drawing technicals, getting ejections — Tuesday night it was Kevin Durant in the third quarter after some brilliant play and caustic words. Sunday night it was DeMarcus Cousins, bounced in the second quarter of the rout of Charlotte for a flagrant foul 2.
And then news came down from on high, NBA headquarters in New York, that for their sarcasm and complaints of some egregious calls in that one-point overtime loss at Minnesota on March 29, the league got into the bank accounts of Durant, Steph Curry and, yes, Draymond Green.
But the only real worry is that Durant and Green, who each now have 15 T’s for the season, will be assessed a 16th and be suspended. Which, being the veterans they are, is unlikely to happen. And when Kerr was asked if he thought the officials would hold a grudge, he doubted it.
What you shouldn’t doubt is the way the Warriors dominated this game. They took to heart the frequent reminders from Kerr to protect the ball and play defense, both accomplished after a ragged start, which the coach said was caused by the Warriors being too hyped.
The Warriors kept the Nuggets to 37.5 percent (the Dubs shot 54.3 percent). The Warriors had 55 rebounds (Denver 40). The only negative was that the Warriors had 23 turnovers (Denver 15).
It was 59-43 at the half, the second quarter ending with a resounding Durant dunk that excited his teammates as much as it did the usual sellout crowd at Oracle Arena.
Durant had 17 points, Cousins 28, Curry 17 and Klay Thompson 13. Durant was ejected with 8:21 to go in a third quarter that was getting a bit out of hand. Kevin didn’t like the way he had been muscled and let the officials — and spectators within hearing distance — know as much.
“I thought he deserved the first technical,” said Kerr, “but I didn’t think he deserved the second one. I was very surprised.”
Presumably Durant was very agitated, but he left the building before anyone other than his teammates could find out.
Pre-game, Kerr was in high praise of Durant, who he said was “one of five guys who can put up huge numbers,” but also understands the game so well he is willing to pass, rebound and play defense as well as take shots.
“He’s one of the guys who can score 40, 50, whatever,” Kerr pointed out about Durant. “Kevin knows. It’s an incredible luxury to have not only that talent but someone willing to do whatever is best for his teammates.”
Getting ejected wasn’t what was best, but sometimes a person has to take a stand.
Curry just took his usual variety of shots, and his 3-pointer with 7:22 left gave him five or more 3s in a career-best nine straight games. Curry now has 16,236 points, moving him ahead of Chris Mullin (16,235) on the Warriors’ all-time list.
“It kind of caught me off guard,” said Curry, “but it’s a very special night understanding what Chris Mullin was able to do in a Warriors uniform. A pretty cool moment.”
That for a guy and a team that were quite hot — Kevin Durant by whatever definition you choose.
By Art Spander
For Maven Sports
OAKLAND — Someone asked about payrolls, and the question was legitimate. The contention long has been that in cars, wine and ballplayers you mostly get what you pay for.
Copyright 2019, The Maven
By Art Spander
For Maven Sports
OAKLAND — So DeMarcus Cousins was bounced for the violation of one of those only-in-the-NBA calls, a flagrant foul 2, which required a video review almost as long as the first half — OK, that’s an exaggeration, although not by much.
Copyright 2019, The Maven
By Art Spander
For Maven Sports
OAKLAND, Calif. — This is way things are going for the Oakland A’s: The guy (Robbie Grossman) they signed as a free agent six weeks ago had two hits, scored a run and made a great catch.
Copyright 2019, The Maven
By Art Spander
For Maven Sports
SAN FRANCISCO — The team president has been suspended. The new scoreboard remains unfinished, as presumably is the roster.
And the Giants completed a losing spring getting swept by the other team in town — well, team from the city across the Bay that has labeled itself “The Town.”
Copyright 2019, The Maven
By Art Spander
For Maven Sports
OAKLAND — The great thing when the game doesn’t count, because when the A’s play the Giants, even in an exhibition it very much counts, is each team finds a reason to feel good.
Copyright 2019 The Maven
By Art Spander
For Maven Sports
OAKLAND, Calif. — At least it wasn’t in the playoffs. Truth tell, if the Warriors played as indifferently through the season as they did Saturday night, there wouldn’t be any playoffs.
Copyright 2019, The Maven
By Art Spander
For Maven Sports
SAN JOSE — The nickname is out of a comic strip. The roster is packed with the offspring of NBA stars. We’re talking about UC Irvine, out there in Orange County, not too far from Disneyland, an institution jokingly referred to as the “University of Caucasian Isolation.”
Copyright 2019 The Maven
By Art Spander
For Maven Sports
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — The description, “Lucky Loser,” seems an oxymoron; army intelligence, jumbo shrimp, lucky loser. Except this is tennis, not the military or crustaceans.
Copyright 2019, The Maven
By Art Spander
For Maven Sports
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — That was more like it. Indian Wells, the elite suburb of Palm Springs — which is pretty elite its ownself — was what we expect this time of year, beautiful weather. And Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal also were what we expect this time of year, playing beautiful tennis.
Copyright 2019, The Maven
By Art Spander
For Maven Sports
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Rafael Nadal was sitting there after a win trying to explain a defeat. That’s the way it is in tennis. Maybe in all sports.
Copyright 2019, The Maven
By Art Spander
For Maven Sports
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — She is the protective one, the careful one, because after all Venus Williams is the older sister. Serena might toss out wisecracks, might wear a T-shirt to the press conference after one Wimbledon victory embellished by a double-entendre. Not Venus.
Copyright 2019, The Maven
By Art Spander
For Maven Sports
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — It was going perfectly. For Serena Williams, who won the first three games leading up to her match against two-time Grand Slam winner Garbine Muguruza.
Copyright 2019, The Maven
By Art Spander
For Maven Sports
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — She was on the cover of Sports Illustrated, the first American woman in 20 years not named Venus or Serena to win the U.S. Open, the national tennis championship.
Copyright 2019, The Maven
By Art Spander
For Maven Sports
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — You know his nickname, “Joker,” a word play on Novak Djokovic’s last name — by now, even non-tennis people know the “D” is silent. But a year ago, the Joker wasn’t laughing. Or smiling. Or, worst of all, winning.
Copyright 2019 The Maven
By Art Spander
For Maven Sports
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — For all the athletic skill, the records, the career that seems endless, maybe what is most appealing about Roger Federer, the finest male tennis player ever — anyone disagree? — is his sense of self.
Copyright 2019, The Maven
By Art Spander
Special for Newsday
PEORIA, Ariz. — He was out of the game but still in uniform. Manny Machado, one of baseball’s new $300 million men, had taken his first two at-bats of spring training and now was so preoccupied, first with interviews for the media and then with autographs for pleading fans, that he still hadn’t gone to the clubhouse to change.
Copyright © 2019 Newsday. All rights reserved.
By Art Spander
For Maven Sports
MESA, Ariz. — They’ve been at it for weeks, as Bob Melvin reminded. But with the temperature rising, the stands filling and the mood as perfect as the weather, for the Oakland A’s this glorious Friday, March 1, was the first day that spring training 2019 felt like spring training.
Copyright 2019, The Maven