Stephen Curry rightfully stole all the headlines in Game 7 against the Sacramento Kings, but Kevon Looney certainly played his part too, as he hauled in 21 rebounds.
It was another outstanding rebounding performance from Looney and Draymond Green revealed on his podcast that he had a role to play in motivating him to ball out.
“Kevon Looney. 21 rebounds,” Green said. “I said it in film yesterday, I said, ‘Man, Trey Lyles been punking us, man. Trey Lyles been punking everybody. He punk me, he punk Loon.’ And Loon said after the film, he came up to me, he said, ‘Man, Trey Lyles ain’t punk me, man. Don’t be throwing that on my resume.’ I said, ‘Listen, Loon, show me then.’ Loon got a couple of rebounds in the second half, he said, ‘Ain’t nobody punking me!’ I said, ‘Yeah Toon!’ It was so incredible to watch him dominate his match-up, dominate the game. His offensive rebounds broke their spirit, you can see it with every single one of them, as he got them, their spirit just broke a little bit more.”
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Looney was simply spectacular on the glass in this series, as he averaged 15.1 RPG, which is very Dennis Rodman-like. Domantas Sabonis had won the rebounding title this season with 12.3 RPG, but Looney managed to get the better of him, as Sabonis only averaged 11.0 RPG in the series.
Looney also had 11 points and 4 assists in Game 7 as the Warriors won 120-110. The one area where the Kings supposedly had the clear advantage in this series was at the center spot, but Looney ensured that wasn’t the case. This was the second game in a row in Sacramento where he grabbed 20+ rebounds, and Green had praised him after the first one, too, as he hilariously compared him to Hakeem Olajuwon and Bill Russell.
Kevon Looney Could Play A Big Role In Determining The Outcome Of Their Next Series
With all due respect to Sabonis, outplaying him, to an extent, is one thing, but Anthony Davis will pose a much bigger challenge than he did. Looney will now be tasked with trying to slow down Davis, who has been immense for the Los Angeles Lakers.
AD wasn’t quite his dominant self offensively against the Memphis Grizzlies, but he was outstanding defensively. He also averaged 13.7 RPG in the series, and Looney will have to work a lot harder to get those crucial second-chance points. Davis will also be a lot more aggressive as a scorer than Sabonis was, but if Looney is able to limit his impact on the games, then the Golden State Warriors will be in a great position to get past the Lakers.
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