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Steve Kerr has far too many aces up his sleeve. The Golden State Warriors head coach is spoilt for choice as he has too many players who can deliver a win for him on any given day. With Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole all featuring on the Warriors' roster, Kerr's position is certainly envied by most head coaches around the NBA.
On Friday night, however, it was another Warriors player who stood up to be counted, giving Steve Kerr more reason to smile. Kevon Looney scored a career-high 21 points in his 422nd NBA game (regular season and playoffs combined), which helped the Warriors overcome a 14-point halftime (58-72) deficit to beat the Dallas Mavericks 126-117 at Chase Center. The Warriors now have a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.
Looney's big night was underscored by the fact that he scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, with 12 of those points coming in the third quarter. The Warriors used Looney's impact to outscore the Mavericks 25-13 in the third period and 68-45 overall in the second half. Looney finished the game, going 10-of-14 (71.4%) from the field while grabbing 12 rebounds as well. Looney's dominance also helped the home team outscore the visitors 62-30 in the points-in-the-paint category.
Steve Kerr gushed over Looney's positive impact for the Golden State Warriors in the game. He told the media about the two-time NBA champion:
"Loon [Looney] was just brilliant, again. He’s had a fantastic playoff run. He’s incredibly underrated by everybody. He switches on the guards. He rebounds. He sets screens. In a series like this that’s so spread out, he’s able to score some buckets in the paint as well."
Steve Kerr right about Kevon Looney having "fantastic" 2022 NBA Playoffs
Steve Kerr's adulatory remarks about Kevon Looney need to be seen in the context of the Warriors' starting center 2022 NBA Playoffs run. Looney was drafted by the Golden State Warriors in the 2015 NBA Draft as the 30th overall pick. The 2021-22 campaign is his seventh season in the league, one in which Looney played all 82 regular season games and started 80 of them.
The 2022 playoffs mark Looney's third postseason appearance. While he brought up his career-high in scoring versus Dallas, Looney grabbed a career-high 22 rebounds in the closeout Game 6 versus the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference semifinals. Looney also had a playoff career-high 11 offensive boards in the same game.
Looney is averaging 5.8 ppg on 68.6% shooting from the field and 6.7 rpg for the Golden State Warriors in these playoffs.
Guess the Lakers players!
