Game Links #63: Golden State Warriors 111 vs Atlanta Hawks 97 - Warriors eventually blow out the Hawks, but Klay lower back strain

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Warriors: Golden State of Mind
Recap: Warriors blow out Hawks behind balanced everything
Game thread: Golden State Warriors vs. Atlanta Hawks game thread: Three is a streak (770+ comments)
Preview: Starting the Home Stretch: Warriors - Hawks Preview

Hawks: Peachtree Hoops
Recap: Hawks vs Warriors final score: Atlanta drops fifth straight in 111-97 loss to Golden State
Game thread: Atlanta Hawks vs Golden State Warriors game thread
Preview: Hawks vs Warriors preview: Road trip rolls on for struggling Atlanta

Recaps

Associated Press: Warriors ease past Hawks 111-97 in return home | Photo Gallery
Sports Network: Warriors take down Hawks
Rusty Simmons: Warriors bring road focus to home win, but Thompson injured | (Mobile)
Rusty Simmons: Game 63: Warriors 111, Atlanta 97
Jimmy Durkin: Warriors roll over Hawks; Thompson injured
Jimmy Durkin: Game 63 rewind: Warriors survive scare from Thompson in easy home win
Monte Poole: Instant Replay: Warriors centers pick up slack vs. Hawks

Pregame News

- Previews of the game.
Monte Poole: Fast Forward: Warriors know they must play better at home

Pregame Videos

Postgame News

- No postgame news.

Postgame Videos

- Postgame quotes and stuff from warriors.com recap:
Photo Gallery

Show Quotes

Mark Jackson
On tonight's game:

"I thought it was a great performance across the board. I thought we did a good of sending a message early. They scored more than we would like in the first quarter, but I thought that was an adjustment period for us. We battled, competed, were aggressive, attacked the painted area and we were very unselfish. Again our bench did an outstanding job. 51 points and 22 rebound from our bench says a lot. Looking ahead to three games in four nights it’s going to be important to take care of business and get a chance to relax with your key players."

On Klay Thompson:

"He was all set to start the third quarter, with a strained lower back, but I decided to get my Pop (Gregg Popovich) on so I shut him down and we look forward to him getting treatment and being ready Sunday."

On Klay Thompson's durability over the years:

"He took a bad spill and hit his head and when he was coming off of the court I thought he was done. When we got back to the locker room at halftime he looked like a different person that was fresh and ready to go. He said ‘I’m ready Coach.’ I just thought it was important for us with a guy that was so durable-we had a comfortable lead at halftime and I just felt that if we couldn’t win the game without him then we didn’t deserve to win it. Fortunately for us we took care of business."

On their overall defense after the first quarter:

"We were sharper and livelier defending the pick-and-roll and we did a good job of firing back at their shooters. They hurt us in Atlanta with their bigs ability to shoot the basketball and it makes it tough because you have to be committed. I thought after they were scoring early we made the proper adjustments."

On Draymond Green:

"Draymond (Green) is a winner. I say it again; it was unbelievable that he was available in the second round of the draft. The guy competes at a high level and can guard one through five and there is nothing on his résumé that he can’t do well. He works his tail off. He defended at a high level, rebounded, was aggressive on the offensive end and his spirit is contagious. I thought he did an outstanding job of lifting us up when he was in the ballgame. Just a big time win and a big time energy effort game from him."

On Jermaine O'Neal:

"It’s easy to forget that some are saying this is his last year. The guy has plenty left in his tank. We knew when we got him he had the ability to post-up and put pressure on the defense. It’s great to see. It’s great to see because he missed eight weeks and he’s been a leader all season long. Now it’s put a stamp on what he has been saying. They listen to his voice because he has a body of work and has a body of work in a Warrior uniform."

David Lee
On this being a good "team win":

"I thought it was a really good team win for us tonight. It shows more maturity by our basketball team that we can come back the first game from a road trip which is always tough. Energy-wise I think we started out decent, not great, but we were able to make that run at the end of the first half which was huge. Then the second half we let them back in the game a little bit then we strengthened the lead back up. I was really proud of our guys tonight and once again the bench provided a great boost and we were able to rest in the fourth quarter so it was a good win for us."

On the importance of the first home game after a road trip:

"Absolutely, because we came back from a great road trip earlier on in the season and had a bunch of home games, and didn’t do as well as we wanted to do. A team like Atlanta hasn’t been playing great ball on the road but if you let them hang in they have enough scoring to beat people so we were fortunate enough tonight to take care of business, keep a lead the whole game, and put them away when we needed to."

Draymond Green
On the second unit bringing energy off the bench:

"We had to bring some energy. I think our first unit got off to a very good start and then we kind of got off to a slow start in the third quarter. As a bench unit that’s our job, to bring some energy to the floor, fly around. One thing we said on the bench was when we get in there we need to fly around and create some turnovers. We were able to do that and it kind of changed the game for us."

On the second unit developing chemistry:

"Just playing together we’re getting more and more comfortable with each other. I know if I drive where someone is at. I know if I drive where JO (Jermaine O’Neal) is at. I know if I drive, somebody is in the corner. Steve [Blake] knows if he comes off the pick-and-roll where I’m going to be. JC (Jordan Crawford) is coming into the game and scoring. We’re getting more and more familiar with each other. Harrison [Barnes] has become more and more solid for us. We’re finally starting to put it together. We have a full healthy squad and we get to gel together a little bit more and that’s become key for us."

On the importance of the upcoming week of home games:

"Very important. It would be great to go 3-0 in that stretch but it’s going to be a tough stretch. I feel like if we continue to get better, continue to gel together, we are capable of beating anybody."

Jermaine O'Neal
On being more effective as he has gotten healthier:

"I’m getting healthy now. I don’t think a lot of people knew that I tore a ligament in my wrist the first couple of weeks of the season and tried to play through it. As the season progressed in the first half of the season, it got worse, so I found myself running from the ball because I didn’t want to hurt the team. Now that I’m healthy, starting to get better and better, I’m running to the ball. Everybody talks about the fountain of youth but basketball doesn’t change. You might not be able to run as fast, jump as high anymore, but the same techniques of playing basketball always stay the same and I try to use some of my knowledge against some of these younger guys and it’s been working so far."

On the importance of defense:

"They got some easy baskets early. The first game back from a long road trip is always the toughest and we knew that coming in. This team was here waiting on us. They played with a lot of energy in the first half and we didn’t really match it. We’re not a team with excuses. We’ve got to come out here and get our job done. All in all I think we’re doing a great job of understanding who we are. We are a defensive-minded team. We’ve got guys that can score the basketball but I don’t want anybody to be fooled; we are a defensive-minded team and if we’re going to win it all, that’s what’s going to help us win it all."

On moving forward to Sunday's game against Phoenix:

"Phoenix is playing great basketball. They’re trying to knock on our door for that sixth spot. They play with great speed, they play together, they shoot a lot of threes. We’re going to try to slow those guys down and put them in a difficult situation on the defensive end, and on the offensive end we’re going to look to score the basketball."

Notes

- During the 1st qtr, Klay fell and hurt his back. Here's a pic of him in pain as he went back to the locker room.
http://twitter.com/CSNWarriors/status/442148591172214784/photo/1
The Warriors said that Klay suffered a lower back strain. He did return to the bench, but did not play again. He's likely to play on Sunday against the Suns.

What's next?

- It's time to put our peaking and surging to the test: The surprise team Suns just beat OKC on Thursday and head into Oracle on Sunday. We're 2 games ahead of them, so a loss won't be a total disaster. But a win would give us a nicer separation.
- Saturday night is spring-forward night in the US, which means we turn our clocks foward and lose an hour of sleep. Even though we get that hour back in the fall, you won't hear me not complaining about it.

Full broadcast schedule at warriors.com/schedule.

Start Four

- It's a fun little game we've been playing around here. Pick 4 guys whom you think will produce the highest total score based on their stats: pts + rebs + ast + 2*stl + 2*blk - to. How did you do in tonight's game?
startfour.com: Golden State Warriors vs Atlanta Hawks

Santa Cruz Warriors

Box Score

Saturday 3/8/2014

- Ron Kroichick wrote a 3 page "mini biography" on the Warriors GM, Bob Myers.
Ron Kroichick: Warrior through and through | (Mobile)

- Notes and injury updates from practice.
Diamond Leung: Golden State Warriors turn attention to Phoenix Suns

- Mark Jackson reminds his players to take pride and appreciate being 15 games over .500.
Monte Poole: Warriors building steam, self-esteem

- The Santa Cruz Warriors hosted the Bakersfield Jam this evening.
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