Matt Steinmetz

Saturday night’s Warriors-New Orleans game was all about the return of Kevin Durant. No ifs, ands or buts about it.

And all in all, you’d have to consider it a success because after the final horn sounded, Durant was still healthy and feeling good — and not just because the Warriors beat the Pelicans 123-101 at Oracle Arena.

Durant returned after missing the past 19 games with a left knee injury –sustained in a February 30 game agains the Washington Wizards. Durant came back with a bang, scoring the team’s first bucket with a baseline drive that ended in a reverse dunk. He followed that up with a nice feed to Zaza Pachulia off a pick and roll.

LINK TO ‘WARRIORS WRAPUP’ POSTGAME FROM WARRIORS’ WIN OVER PELICANS.

Durant leveled off as the game went on, but he didn’t seem to show any ill effects from the injury. He looked very comfortable moving around, and the only thing that looked a little sketchy was his 3-point shooting.

Durant finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in 31 minutes. He went 6-for-15 from the field, but missed all four of his 3-point attempts.

It was nice that Durant came back for this particular game because it was devoid of a few stars. Warriors guard Stephen Curry sat out because of a left knee contusion, and the Pelicans were without DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis.

It wasn’t quite a perfect night for the Warriors (66-14), who won their 14th consecutive game. Forward Matt Barnes sprained his right ankle/foot in the first half and did not return.

The Warriors, of course, have clinched the No. 1 seed in this year’s Western Conference playoffs, and now it looks like their opponent is coming into focus. The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Utah Jazz on Saturday to reduce their magic number to one to clinch the No. 8 spot. Should the Blazers hold on, the Warriors will open the first-round of the postseason against Portland at Oracle Arena either Saturday or Sunday.

He sustained the injury March 30 against the Washington Wizards, and he ended up coming back just about exactly when he was expected to: 6-ish weeks.

Kevin Durant didn’t just come back for the warriors on Saturday nigh

Durant missed 19 games with left knee injury.

Curry left knee contusion. No DeMarcus Cousins or Anthony Davis.

I never thought rebounding was defense.

I thought rebounding was rebounding. Rebounding was what you had to do to get from defense to offense — kind of like a task or obligation or responsibility. I can’t speak for everyone, but that’s the way I thought of it. And, yeah, I thought everyone pretty much thought that, too.

Until Don Nelson told me about 10 years ago he thought rebounding was absolutely part of defense — that it was the final step, the culmination of the process of getting a stop.

LINK: ‘WARRIORS WRAPUP’ FROM GOLDEN STATE’S WIN OVER PHOENIX.

I never thought rebounding was part of a player’s defensive resume or a team’s defensive resume. Nelson disagreed. At the time he said rebounding was the last action of a successful defensive possession.

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Warriors guard Stephen Curry went out on Wednesday and played a round of golf outside Phoenix. Apparently, he shot a 75 at the Seville Golf and Country Club, in Gilbert, AZ.

Later in the day, Curry shot the lights out at Talking Stick Resort Arena downtown, leading the Warriors to a 120-111 win over the Suns. Curry finished with a game-high 42 points on a wonderful night of shooting: 15-for-26 from the field, including 8-for-13 from beyond the arc.

LINK TO ‘WARRIORS WRAPUP,’ THE POSTGAME SHOW FROM WARRIORS-SUNS GAME.

With the win, the Warriors (65-14) clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and throughout the NBA postseason. It is the first time in NBA history that a team has won 65 games in three consecutive years. Oh, and the win was their 13th straight.

Curry scored 23 points in the first quarter alone and had one stretch where he scored 19 consecutive points. He had 16 points in the game’s first six minutes, going 5-for-6 from the field and 4-for-4 from 3-point range.

The Warriors played without Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala, both of whom got the game off.

The Warriors, of course, have put together this 13-game winning streak without Kevin Durant, who is rehabbing his injured left knee. After Durant was injured in Washington in late March, the Warriors lost 5 of their first seven without him, then embarked on this streak.

The better news for the Warriors is Durant is expected to return for Saturday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Oracle Arena.