Warriors depth shows lack of knockout ability without Steph appeared originally on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO — For most of the first half Wednesday night at the Chase Center, the gap between the first- and second-place teams in the NBA’s Western Conference was so wide that it was impossible to see with the naked eye.
The second-ranked Warriors, deeply compromised without superstar point guard Stephen Curry, spent 20 minutes testing their physical limits but couldn’t find answers to the challenges posed by conference leader Oklahoma City.
It wasn’t until the final four minutes of the half that the Warriors found their fury. They closed the half with a 12-5 run, and the momentum carried over into the third quarter, when they outscored the Thunder 20-12 in the first six minutes. They won the quarter by 11, reviving the sell-out crowd (18,064) and restoring their belief in themselves.
Defense and some quick plays from the second unit to turn the game into one it wasn’t — until Golden State’s offensive shortcomings showed up late and were the culprits in a 105-101 loss that went into an unwelcome “morale.” victory”.
“We were terrible in the first quarter,” coach Steve Kerr said. “But I liked everything I saw in the last three quarters. Energy, defense, spins. The guys were flying around with lots of good individual contributions. That’s our team. That’s who we are.”
After trailing by as many as 19, the Warriors rode the waves created by Kyle Anderson’s Slow-Mo Euro, Pat Spencer’s guts, Draymond Green’s blocks, Brandin Podziemski’s breakouts, Jonathan Kuminga’s blasts and Buddy Hield’s 3-pointers.
It was Golden State’s defense that kept the Thunder from pulling away. With OKC shooting 51.1 percent in the first half but limited to 39.5 percent in the second, there were plenty of open doors, lanes and lanes that could have led the Warriors to a surprise victory with two or three buckets.
But effort and good intentions are no match for a point drought that lasts more than five minutes. The Warriors’ hopes of a comeback were in tatters when Anderson led 96-93 with 5:45 left. Hope flared as they missed 14 more shots.
“I didn’t think we made great decisions in the last five minutes,” Kerr said. “During the game, there’s a time for choices and when Steph’s out, it’s a little more difficult on our team.”
The Warriors missed 27 of 46 shots (41.3 percent) in the paint. They shot 7 of 28 in the fourth quarter, including 4 of 15 in the paint. For a team that relies so heavily on its depth — which is a tangible asset on paper — the Warriors looked remarkably unchallenged without Curry available to expand the offensive options.
Andrew Wiggins and Kuminga tried to close the scoring gap late in the game, but they combined to go 1-of-8 in the fourth quarter. Only Anderson, with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting, managed any effective offense.
The result was a string of blanks, with Green pointing the finger at himself as the offense stalled. Which is brave, but not quite accurate.
“I just have to settle in and make sure we get into something,” Green said. “Get in some streaks. We scattered a bit, and that’s on me.
“When the game gets to that point, somebody has to slow the game down and get us into the set. I’m the veteran there. I am the one with the most experience. So I have to pull my head out of my ass, go get the ball and get us into the set. Something that would benefit us all.’
“Everybody wanted it. JK was getting to the hole; he wanted it. [Wiggins] got into the paint a few times; he wanted it. [Podziemski] he did too. But our spacing wasn’t right, so they could collapse on the paint. And we don’t have the right kickoffs because our spacing wasn’t right because we weren’t going into anything. They were just guys making plays themselves.”
The Thunder (14-4) left town still in first place, while the Warriors (12-6) headed into the night with their third straight loss and fell one game behind the third-place Houston Rockets.
Curry, sitting with pain in both knees, watched from the bench. Kerr is optimistic about his return Saturday to face the Suns in Phoenix. But on this night, the absence of the reigning NBA Player of the Year was too much for Golden State’s offense to overcome.
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