How often do you see an entire arena full of fans on their feet for an entire fourth quarter? In high school or college, yes. In the NBA, not so often.
Last night in Oakland was different.
I’m still thinking about How Loud Oracle was tonight! Incredible Fans!#ThankU
— Mark Jackson (@JacksonMark13) April 27, 2013
The Golden State Warriors won their second straight game without injured forward David Lee, defeating the Denver Nuggets 110-108 in the only decent game of the night (unless you take joy in watching the misery of the Celtics and Lakers).
Stephen Curry overcame his latest ankle injury to score 29 points and hand out 11 assists, Jarrett Jack added 23 points and seven assists, and Harrison Barnes and Carl Landry each scored 19 points to help the Warriors rally from 13 points down in the third quarter. Golden State’s ‘Dub’ wasn’t secure until Andre Iguodala missed 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded, setting off a gold-confetti celebration throughout the announced sellout crowd of 19,596 in Golden State’s first home playoff game since 2007.
”There’s nothing like something being as good as advertised,” Jackson said. ”They were loud. They were consistent and we fed off them even when we didn’t match their intensity.”
Check out the back-to-back floaters — one with each hand — that Curry made to help secure the victory: