10-0 run leads to Warriors win over Raptors? More like 0-10 run as defense shines

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OAKLAND -- The common description will be that the Warriors rode a 10-0 game-ending run to overtake the Raptors and walk out of Oracle Arena with a 117-112victory Wednesday night.

Though the common description isn’t wrong, it doesn’t capture the essence of what took place over the final two minutes.

This might be better described as a 0-10 run, however, because it was the defense that showed up when the Warriors desperately needed something, anything, to save them from defeat.

A Kevin Durant turnover that could have been disastrous instead leads to Toronto’s Jakob Poeltl getting his shot blocked at the rim by Draymond Green, with Klay Thompson coming away with the loose ball.

One stop.

That leads to a Klay Thompson layup that slices the deficit to three, 112-109, with 1:28 remaining.

Toronto’s next possession ends when Kyle Lowry is pressured into missing a 14-foot jumper, with Green grabbing the rebound.

Two stops.

Green finds Durant, who walks into a 3-pointer from the left wing -- reminiscent of the unforgettable decisive shot in Game 3 of the NBA Finals -- tying the score at 112-112 with 1:02 left and forcing a Raptors timeout.

Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan comes out of the timeout and misses a 16-footer that is rebounded by Durant with 46.1 seconds remaining.

Three stops.

That leads to Durant finding Curry for a 3-pointer from three feet beyond the top of the arc that swishes through for a 115-112 lead with 32.1 seconds left, sending a small earthquake through Oracle Arena.

The Raptors still have a chance to come back a retake what they had in their hands a little more than a minute earlier. They had fought so hard, and so well, in snuffing out an 11-point Warriors lead earlier in the fourth quarter.

The ball again goes to Lowry, who misses again -- because Thompson blocks his shot with 16.1 seconds remaining.

Four stops. And now Toronto is desperate.

Poeltl fouls Curry with 5.1 seconds remaining. Curry makes two free throws to seal the victory.

“We just kept our composure,” Curry said. “KD hits a big shot; we’ve seen that before. He finds me for an open 3. I knock it down. And the defense we played, especially Draymond and Klay, down the stretch, the last three possessions, was huge.”

Check the highlights. You’ll see Durant’s game-tying trey. You’ll see Curry’s triple that puts the Warriors in the lead. You might even see Curry’s missed dunk that didn’t count because it came after the Poeltl foul.

You may -- or may not -- see the work that generated all of it.

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