The Warriors did not play sufficiently like the Warriors, and for that they are denied the right to enjoy the satisfactions of a difficult win against an obstinate team.
OAKLAND -- The Golden State Warriors learned a valuable lesson Tuesday night – one they have learned before and will be forced to learn again.
Namely, that meeting the standard set by the idealized version of the Golden State Warriors is not child’s play.
The Warriors as they actually are toughed out a 115-110 victory over Toronto, their 12th win without rebuttal and one which will be neither be particularly noted nor remembered save for one thing:
Their opponents are slowly but surely getting better at the difficult art of hanging around, the first step toward eventually prevailing.