OAKLAND — Andre Iguodala didn’t play in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals Tuesday night, but his 21-year-old rookie understudy Patrick McCaw did, and the kid turned in a performance more than worthy of Andre himself.

Iguodala sat out the Warriors’ 136-100 romp over the San Antonio Spurs with left knee soreness. An MRI revealed no serious issues, but if Iguodala needs more time beyond this latest game, any fears may be eased a bit based on all the great things McCaw can offer as his replacement.

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Thompson: Stephen Curry has become unsolvable riddle for Spurs McCaw, who had a strong rookie regular season, might have had his best all-around game as a Warrior. Over 26 1/2 minutes, he scored 18 points, made 6 of 8 shots including 3 of 4 3-pointers, dished five assists, came up with three rebounds and three steals and was a defensive dervish.

It was quite an effort for a player who didn’t play single second in Game 1, and played less than 10 minutes total in the four-game sweep against Utah. But with Iguodala out, the Warriors had to do something novel, and wouldn’t you know it, it was Steve Kerr who delivered on McCaw in the pre-game coaches’ meeting.

“That was Steve’s suggestion,” said acting head coach Mike Brown. “Steve suggested we put Patty in Andre’s place and it made sense, especially with Kawhi (Leonard) not playing, and he stepped up and had a big game for us.”

McCaw got raves from the coaches and players alike afterward.

“He was amazing,” said Stephen Curry. “Obviously, with Andre out, it’s the next-man-up philosophy. Everybody says it, but when you have a guy like Pat who doesn’t really know when his minutes are going to come, he always stays ready. We just told him to be aggressive, make the right decision and make things happen, and he did that the whole game. That was a huge pickup for us.”

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“He’s really athletic, so when you put a big on him (defensively), you want him to use his athleticism to get by them and create some havoc in the paint,” added Kevin Durant. “He did a great job of it.”

If there’s been any criticism of McCaw whatsoever all year, it’s that he can be a bit reluctant to shoot at times, and upon entering Game 2, he passed up a couple of open opportunities with Spurs big man LaMarcus Aldridge only half-heartedly guarding him.

“He can shoot the ball, especially if you’re going to give him time like that,” said Brown. “So when he passed up the first one or two, guys on the floor said it, all the coaches yelled it to take that shot. Give him credit, he stepped up and knocked them down.” Related Articles Rookie Patrick McCaw steps up at both ends, throws in a bit of emotion

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McCaw admitted when he first came into the game, he was a bit shy to let it fly. How many people told him to cut loose and shoot?

“Oh man, the whole team … the whole team told me to shoot,” he said. “But it’s the Western Conference finals and I’m a rookie, so at first, it was kind of nerve-wracking. But I just got comfortable with the guys, they had a lot of confidence in me to play my game and take the shots when they were there, and that’s what I did. I got focused.”

McCaw said while he understands the comparisons of his game with Iguodala’s and has learned much from him, he doesn’t necessarily want to be regarded as his clone.