Loon brushes off dust, saves Warriors in win over Blazers

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Loon brushes off dust, saves Warriors in win over Blazers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

With Draymond Green and Klay Thompson in street clothes and Stephen Curry’s shot being stubborn, the Warriors were fumbling all over themselves Thursday in Portland, creating an opening for the lowly Trail Blazers to find their third win in four weeks.

Trailing 85-82 with 7:28 remaining and facing the prospect of losing the traction gained by beating the Los Angeles Lakers two nights earlier, Warriors coach Steve Kerr turned to his bench and summoned the trustiest veteran who plays the least.

Kevon Looney, former starting center now relegated to the bench, got the call.

The response was an 18-7 closing run, with Looney at the core, that allowed to the Warriors to head for the airport with a 100-92 victory that hoisted them from 10th place to ninth place in the Western Conference Play-In Tournament.

“Loon just saved us like he has done dozens of times in his career here,” Kerr told reporters at Moda Center. “He’s kind of been on the outside of the rotation for the last six weeks or so, and he always stays ready. He just he came in and changed the game.”

“Loon just saved us, like he has done dozens of times in his career here.”

Kerr thanks Looney for swinging momentum the Warriors’ way pic.twitter.com/kUepdAMs7q

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 12, 2024

Looney’s final 7:28 was a portrait of a man draining every ounce of energy, rolling in for a dunk 20 seconds after entering, grabbing an offensive rebound that led to him shooting two free throws, getting a steal that led to a Curry 3-pointer, following a Curry steal with a layup, blocking a shot that led to a layup by Brandin Podziemski.

That was enough to push the Warriors to their biggest lead of the night, going up nine (95-86) with 3:03 remaining.

Looney finished with nine points, a team-high 11 rebounds (four on the offensive glass), a season-high four blocks and two steals. The ninth-year center was a team-best plus-19 over 21 minutes.

“I feel good; I ain’t played 20 minutes in a while,” a grinning Looney said on NBC Sports Bay Area’s…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/loon-brushes-off-dust-saves-064057365.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-04-12 06:40:57

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