All five starters scored in double figures as the Golden State Warriors cruised to a 112-89 win over the Indiana Pacers at Oracle Arena.
DeMarcus Cousins led the way with 19 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, while Steph Curry and Kevin Durant added 15 points apiece, Klay Thompson 18 and Draymond Green 10 in a well-balanced performance to secure their fourth win from their past five games.
In the ultimate 'Strength in numbers' performance, the Warriors didn't have a single player score over 20 points in a game for the first time in two seasons.
This will be the first time in two seasons and only the fourth time in the KD era that the Warriors won't have a 20-point scorer. Balanced point totals (Cousins 19, Klay 18, KD 15, Curry 15, Iguodala 11, Draymond 10) + great defense = blowout of the Pacers.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 22, 2019
As we've seen so often, the Warriors used a monster third quarter push to break the game open, outscoring the Pacers 35-19, shooting 14-of-24 from the field, including 6-of-11 from deep. Curry did the bulk of the damage, scoring 12 of his 15 points in the period, including four three-pointers.
#DubNation @boogiecousins (19 PTS, 11 REB) & @KDTrey5 (15 PTS, 6 AST, 3 BLK) push the @warriors past Indiana at Oracle Arena! pic.twitter.com/pwQMSho2LF
— NBA (@NBA) March 22, 2019
They turned up the heat on the defensive end, forcing six turnovers as they held Indiana to just 7-of-18 from the field.
Today also marked Andrew Bogut's first game in front of the Oracle Arena crowd, who were on their feet from the jump, giving the Aussie big man a standing ovation as a tribute video played on the big screen ahead of tip-off.
They gave him a similar reception as he checked into the game late in the first quarter. he finished with four points, seven rebounds and one assist in nine minutes of action.
Andrew Bogut welcome back tribute video. Oracle Arena gives him a standing ovation pic.twitter.com/3F3380Qlec
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) March 22, 2019
''I think our fans recognise that, in many ways, Andrew represented the shift in the Warriors organisation and its emphasis on defence,'' Kerr said pre-game.
''I think that trade was really kind of the first domino to fall in terms of - well Steph's drafting was the first one, let's not forget that one - but shortly thereafter Andrew came over in the trade and there was an organizational shift towards a defensive mindset which I think Mark Jackson implemented and the players started to reflect that philosophy.
"Things like the Bogut trade and the Andre [Iguodala] signing. Then some of the guys just developed like Klay and Draymond. Bogues was pretty much here for all of this and has helped this franchise win a championship and he's going to get a fantastic reception tonight and I look forward to it.''
For the Pacers (44-29), Tyreke Evans scored a game-high 20 points off the bench, while Thaddeus Young added 18 as they slumped to their fourth-straight loss. They now sit just a half-game ahead of the Boston Celtics in the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
With the win, the Warriors (49-22) move a half-game ahead of the Denver Nuggets (48-22) at the top of the Western Conference.