OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) The Latest from Friday night’s Game 4 of the NBA Finals (all times local):
6:40 p.m.
Golden State has started fast in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
Kevon Looney shook off injury and came off the bench to provide a big boost, and the Warriors lead Toronto 23-17 after the first quarter. Looney has six points, and Klay Thompson has five for the Warriors.
Kawhi Leonard started 5 for 8 for Toronto; his teammates started 1 for 13. Leonard has 14 of Toronto’s 17 points.
Looney played with a compression shirt on, presumably to protect his upper-body injury that the Warriors thought would keep him out for the rest of the series. He made 3 of 4 shots.
The teams combined to miss their first seven shots and nearly 3 minutes passed before Stephen Curry made a jumper to open the scoring.
—
6:10 p.m.
Klay Thompson is back in the Golden State Warriors’ starting lineup for Game 4 of the NBA Finals, as expected.
Thompson missed Game 3 with a hamstring strain. He’s starting with Stephen Curry, DeMarcus Cousins, Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green.
It’s the usual starting five for the Toronto Raptors – Kyle Lowry and Danny Green in the backcourt, Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam at forward and Marc Gasol at center.
—
5:45 p.m.
Stephen Curry says Game 4 is ”a must-win” for his Golden State Warriors.
The NBA’s cameras caught up with the Warriors guard as he walked into Oracle Arena for Game 4 on Friday afternoon. Curry was stoic as he talked and walked for a few seconds.
Curry says, ”It’s a must-win. Every game’s a must-win for us. That’s how we feel. But tonight especially, we’ve got to get back in the series and take it from there.”
Toronto leads Golden State 2-1 in the title series going into Friday’s matchup
—
5:15 p.m.
Mychal Thompson agreed with the Warriors’ decision not to play his son in Game 3 of the NBA Finals because of Klay’s strained left hamstring.
Klay Thompson missed the first postseason game of his career to snap a streak of 120 straight playoff games.
He is set to return for Game 4.
Mychal Thompson, a former two-time NBA champion, said Friday Kobe Bryant was Klay’s inspiration and his idol growing up and ”he knew that Kobe didn’t sit out for nagging injuries and he wants to try to follow that example throughout his career. And he was very proud of his playoff streak that he had going on. He wanted to keep that alive as long as possible.”
Mychal said ”all of those things came into play and he felt like he could play if it was the seventh game, but I think Steve (Kerr) did the right thing giving him a couple extra days of rest to make sure he’s fresh and ready.”
—
4:50 p.m.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr says he done providing details of Kevin Durant’s rehab.
The two-time reigning finals MVP is missing his ninth straight game since straining his right calf in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against Houston.
Kerr said Friday before Game 4 that the Warriors are ”hoping he can play Game 5 or 6. And everything in between I’ve decided I’m not sharing because it’s just gone haywire.”
The coach says ”there’s so much going on … it doesn’t make sense to continue to talk about it. He’s either going to play or he’s not. So tonight he’s not playing.”
—
4:25 p.m.
Kevon Looney got a second opinion and a second chance to play in these NBA Finals.
After Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Looney would miss the remainder of the series against Toronto with a displaced first costal cartilage fracture, the team now says he may be able to play in Game 4.
Kerr says Looney is ”just tough and he wants to play.”
Looney got hurt in Game 2 when he was defending a drive by Toronto’s Kawhi Leonard.
Looney has been a major part of the Warriors’ big-man rotation. His addition is an obvious boost.
—
4:15 p.m.
Hall of Famer Al Attles is expected to attend Game 4 of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena.
Al Attles III told The Associated Press Friday his 82-year-old father will be in attendance. It will be the first game Attles, who has had health issues, has attended this season.
The Warriors trail the series 2-1 and this could be the final game at Oracle Arena with the team moving into a new building next season.
The former point guard was named player coach of the Warriors midway through the 1969-70 season. He guided the Rick Barry-led Golden State team to the 1975 NBA title.
—
9:40 a.m.
The NBA Finals resume Friday night amid the fallout from the incident involving Toronto guard Kyle Lowry.
Game 4 of the title series between Toronto and Golden State is on tap. The off day following the Raptors’ Game 3 win on Wednesday was dominated by reactions to Warriors’ investor Mark Stevens shoving Lowry at courtside. Stevens was banned by the league for a year and fined $500,000.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says Stevens was spared a lifetime ban because he’s never been disciplined by the league before and because he was deeply apologetic for his actions.
Kevin Durant will not play in Game 4 for Golden State as he continues recovering from his calf injury, but the Warriors are getting Klay Thompson back after a one-game absence with a strained hamstring.
—
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
25% Bonus via Western Union
