The Golden State Warriors defeated the Brooklyn Nets 110-106 at Chase Center on Saturday, achieving their fifth win in a row.

Though the Warriors lacked Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala due to injuries in this game, they still had a more complete team than the Nets. While the home team was able to send both of the "Splash Brothers," Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, to the floor, the Nets only had one of their Big Three, Kyrie Irving, to carry the team's offense.

The Warriors exploited this on defense, especially in containing Irving. In most of the possessions he had the ball and began to drive, at least two defenders would come to trap him, forcing Irving to give up the ball. As a result, Irving struggled hard in the first half and went 2-7 in field goals (FGs), including missing all three attempts from downtown. He had to take a lot of quick releases before the Warriors' double-team happened and that didn't fit his rhythm well.

Patty Mills was the only teammate who could offer Irving reliable help as he drained six 3-pointers for 24 points. Mills also shouldered part of the dribbling duties from the second half, allowing Irving to launch offense in an easier way. Such transition of roles worked immediately in the third quarter, during which Irving shot 5-7 in FGs to score 14 points. Though the Warriors adapted their defensive tactics in Q4 and went more aggressive, limiting Irving, he still managed to hit a crowd-silencer with 9.4 seconds left in the last quarter, cutting the deficit to one point for the Nets (107-106).

That was one of the few moments the Nets came close to achieving a comeback. However, Irving was whistled for an inbound foul in the following possession when Thompson tripped on his leg during the Warriors' throw-in. As a result, the home team was given one free throw and one throw-in. When the Nets fouled Thompson again, they only had 5.7 seconds left, not to mention that Thompson made all of his free throws to give Golden State a 110-106 lead.

Even if James Johnson's pass had not been stolen by Gary Payton II but reached Irving, the Nets were unlikely to erase a four-point deficit within 5.7 seconds, especially without a timeout.

The Warriors defense was responsible for much of Saturday's win, but their offense played a key role as well. For example, Andrew Wiggins went 101-18 in FGs and 4-8 in 3-pointers to score a team-high 24 points; Otto Porter Jr. was 4-4 in the paint to get 16 points; Kevon Looney grabbed seven offensive rebounds for the team. They were +14 (Wiggins), +22 (Porter Jr.) and +17 (Looney) during their time on the floor.

By contrast, Curry (-3) and Thompson (-3) were not in their best form on Saturday night. The two combined for 10-32 in FGs and 5-18 in triples. Curry also committed five turnovers. Both should be held responsible for the Nets' fierce rally in the game.

Nonetheless, the Splash Brothers secured salvation in the last quarter. Curry made two 3-pointers and six free throws to get 14 points in Q4 while Thompson went 3-3 in FGs to get nine points. The two scored all of the Warriors last 17 points.

"It felt amazing, it really did. I missed that feeling," Thompson said. "It felt absolutely amazing."

"It's important for Klay to feel those big moments. It's been 2.5 years," Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said.

Raptors upset Heat after three OTs

The Toronto Raptors beat the Miami Heat 124-120 after three overtimes (OTs) at FTX Arena on Saturday, ending the Eastern Conference leaders' three-game losing streak.

All five Raptors starters dropped double-digit points, led by the 33 points of Gary Trent Jr. Pascal who had five steals as well. Siakam and OG Anunoby both had double-doubles of 21 points, 13 rebounds and 20 points, 14 assists, respectively. The two also combined for 12 assists and seven steals, while Siakam delivered four blocks. Rookie Scottie Barnes scored 22 points after making three triples. Fred VanVleet was one point away from reaching 20, but he drained the Raptors' last 3-pointer in OT3 to make it 122-117 for the team.

Usually the Raptors would stop at nothing to freeze the opponent's ace, but Jimmy Butler became an exception on Saturday night. Having filled every blank on the stats sheet, Butler put down a triple-double of 37 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists as well as three steals, two blocks and five turnovers.

However, one of the consequences of Butler's overloading in regulation was a lack of strength in OT. He was 1-4, 1-1 and 0-0 in FGs in each of the three OTs, respectively. Neither were his teammates able to stand out like VanVleet did, who made two valuable triples in the third OT.

"We fought through some adversity so it was good for us tonight to stick it out and keep our composure," VanVleet said.

"It was highly competitive and wild swings, back and forth, of emotion," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It was going to require a great deal of mental toughness to be able to fight through a lot of frustrating moments in the first three quarters, but I thought we responded. Just a terrific ball game in the fourth quarter and all the overtimes."

Other games on Saturday (away teams come first):

Indiana Pacers 105-132 Dallas Mavericks

Sacramento Kings 101-103 Philadelphia 76ers

Washington Wizards 95-115 Memphis Grizzlies