OAKLAND — Make it an 18-0 start for the Warriors, 22 straight wins over two seasons, 10 for the last 10 against the Sacramento Kings, and perhaps most important at the moment, 1-0 without starting mainstay Harrison Barnes.
Barnes, who suffered a severe left ankle sprain against Phoenix a night earlier, had played in 205 consecutive NBA games counting playoffs but missed the Warriors’ relatively easy 120-101 victory over the Kings on Saturday night at Oracle Arena. The big question now is how many more games he might miss.
The Warriors didn’t miss their starting small forward much on a night when Sacramento was without star center DeMarcus Cousins (back strain). One of the big reasons was the man who stepped in for Barnes, veteran Brandon Rush, who helped ignite a third-period surge that blew open the Warriors’ latest victory. Rush, who hadn’t scored in double figures in a game since suffering a serious knee injury in October 2012, scored 14 in the quarter and 16 in the game to help assuage some of the fears about Barnes’ immediate status.
With the Warriors heading out on a seven-game trip, it remains to be seen how long Barnes will be out, but interim head coach Luke Walton said the club will be cautious in bringing him back.
“With an ankle sprain, it could be a few weeks, it could be one week,” said Walton. “We’ll wait to hear back from the doctors, and we’ll move on if he’s out, and we have other guys who’ll be anxious to step up for us. Obviously, like we always preach, we’re not going to rush him back because we want to be healthy later in the season, and we don’t want lingering injuries.”
Barnes isn’t sure how long it’s going to take. He said that even though X-rays were negative, he is still very sore from the injury. He was on crutches, and his ankle was heavily wrapped.
“It’s just something you have to work through,” Barnes said. “I haven’t sprained my ankle too many times to compare this one to, but it really hurts.”
Barnes said he’s good with the plan to be cautious about getting back. He wouldn’t make a prediction when he might return.
“I’m not quite sure, I’m just going to kind of see how it goes,” he said. “I’m not going to try to rush it. We want to make sure when I come back, it’s 100 percent, and there’s not any lingering pain or effects.”
Barnes is the Warriors’ third-leading scorer, averaging 13.4 points per game, a strong and versatile defender and an integral component to the club’s small lineup. But on the first night without him, Rush was able to step to the fore after a rough opening. He scored just two points in the first six minutes as the Warriors fell behind 14-6. The Warriors subsequently took off behind Stephen Curry, who scored 17 of his 19 points in the first quarter.
The third quarter was a different story for Rush. The 30-year-old swingman made 4 of 5 shots from behind the 3-point line and five baskets overall as the Warriors expanded a 10-point halftime lead to as many as 29.
“It’s always a nice feeling to get the opportunity to play for this team,” Rush said. “It’s a great team, so to hear my name being called for the starting lineup is an honor.”
Rush said he feels significantly better physically than last season, when he played in just 33 games and logged a mere 271 minutes, mostly at the end of Warriors routs.
“I feel like my old self,” he said. “I feel like myself from a couple of years ago, knocking down the shot, dunking, rebounding the ball, just playing the way I used to play. Last year, I wasn’t ready, I wasn’t confident. “
The game got so out of hand that Curry went to the bench for the entire fourth period for the fourth straight game, which once again denied him a chance to play against his brother, Seth, who played much of the final quarter for Sacramento.
The Warriors featured a balanced attack led by Draymond Green’s second triple-double in as many games — 13 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds — the first Warrior to accomplish that feat since Wilt Chamberlain in 1964. Klay Thompson had 15 points, Marreese Speights 13 and Festus Ezeli 11 with 11 rebounds. Rudy Gay led Sacramento with 20 points but made just 7 of 20 shots.
Golden State’s 22nd straight regular-season victory over two seasons matches the third-longest win streak in NBA history.
