Kevin Durant: ‘Never Comfortable’ Playing Without Stephen Curry and Draymond Green
Kevin Durant says “it’s not comfortable” to play without Stephen Curry (strained left groin) and Draymond Green (toe soreness) by his side.
KD poured in a season-high 44 points Saturday night, as Golden State held off the visiting Sacramento Kings 117-116.
Durant, who added 13 rebounds and seven assists, says the Warriors are counting on their defense with two All-Stars currently in street clothes.
Per ESPN:
“Phenomenal,” [Steve] Kerr said of Durant. “He’s taking on such a big responsibility along with Klay. You see the shot distribution. Those guys are really carrying the load offensively, and Kevin was just amazing. There were so many possessions that were kind of dead in the water, and he bailed us out late, so Kevin was amazing.”
Aside from the late-game fireworks, it was Durant’s performance that helped carry the Warriors to their second straight victory after four straight losses.
“It’s not comfortable playing without them,” Durant said. “They bring too much to the table to say that. But we’re just trying to figure out ways to be effective, each one of us on the court, when we’re on the court. I think Coach has been trying to do a good job of mixing and matching the lineups and putting guys in position to be successful individually. And we’re trying to rely on our defense more so than anything when we got — we’re missing 30 points from Steph and any given night.
“You don’t know where it’s going to come from. You got to play more of a cerebral game without one of your best scorers. And then Draymond adds such a … he brings such a unique approach to the game with his defense, switching everything, roaming around. But also the extra passing, and [grabbing] the rebound and pushing the pace. I think more so than anything we just try to rely on defense, and offense we figure it out, but it’s never comfortable without those two.”
