Warriors breathe easy, but shot-clock reset takes toll in win over Kings

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr says the new 14-second reset on the shot clock after an offensive rebound has affected how teams approach possessions and is changing how they run offensive sets.

Kerr's comments came Saturday night following a 117-116 win over the Sacramento Kings in which the new rule came into play late in the fourth quarter.

After years of having the shot clock reset to 24 seconds after an offensive rebound, the NBA instituted a new rule prior to the season in which it resets to 14 seconds. On Saturday, with the Warriors clinging to a 115-114 lead, the clock reset to 14 after a Kevin Durant miss and an offensive rebound by Andre Iguodala. Instead of running another set, the Warriors settled for a rushed 33-foot jumper by Klay Thompson after he realized the clock was running down.

It was the latest example of a team still adjusting to the rule, only it didn't come back to bite the Warriors this time.

"It did. For sure it did," Kerr said of the rule affecting his team. "And I've seen it affect some other games, too, when I'm watching games at night, so it's something we're going to have to talk about. It's just a different vibe. You're used to getting an offensive board for your entire career, you feel that clock and so it sneaks up on you quickly."

Durant, who finished with a season-high 44 points to go with 13 rebounds and seven assists, admitted the new rule is still an adjustment for everybody.

"It's been that way throughout the whole season." he said. "Klay still could have got a better shot than that -- I told him that. He could have drove, got closer to the rim, because he shot that one from deep. But it's definitely an adjustment early on when you look up and you get a rebound [the clock] is at 14, you feel like you got to rush but that's still a lot of time on the clock. We're only going to get better in those situations."

The Warriors' adjustment to the new rule provided another subplot in a night full of them, including Thompson scoring the winning basket after a miss and offensive rebound with 5.8 seconds left.

The Kings had a chance to win, but Marvin Bagley III's tip-in try got stuck in between the backboard and the rim, causing a jump ball that Durant won. After a review determined that the Kings were not awarded a timeout with time still left on the clock, Warriors big man Damian Jones tipped away an inbounds pass with .3 seconds left that sealed the game.

Aside from the late-game fireworks, it was Durant's performance that helped carry the Warriors to their second straight victory after four straight losses.

"Phenomenal," Kerr said of Durant. "He's taking on such a big responsibility along with Klay. You see the shot distribution. Those guys are really carrying the load offensively, and Kevin was just amazing. There were so many possessions that were kind of dead in the water, and he bailed us out late, so Kevin was amazing."

The Warriors will take wins any way they can get them as they continue to wait for Stephen Curry (strained left groin) and Draymond Green (toe soreness) to return.

"It's not comfortable playing without them," Durant said. "They bring too much to the table to say that. But we're just trying to figure out ways to be effective, each one of us on the court, when we're on the court. I think Coach has been trying to do a good job of mixing and matching the lineups and putting guys in position to be successful individually. And we're trying to rely on our defense more so than anything when we got -- we're missing 30 points from Steph and any given night.

"You don't know where it's going to come from. You got to play more of a cerebral game without one of your best scorers. And then Draymond adds such a ... he brings such a unique approach to the game with his defense, switching everything, roaming around. But also the extra passing, and [grabbing] the rebound and pushing the pace. I think more so than anything we just try to rely on defense, and offense we figure it out, but it's never comfortable without those two."