What we learned as Warriors’ late-game woes continued in loss to Nets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
BOX SCORE
SAN FRANCISCO — No lead is safe in the NBA, as the Warriors learned again Monday night at the Chase Center against the rebuilding, scrappy Brooklyn Nets.
The Warriors led by 17 points in the third quarter on Saturday in San Antonio and lost by 10. After a day’s rest, the Warriors enjoyed an 18-point lead over the Nets in the third quarter. That lead then dwindled to just five entering the fourth quarter.
Just over three minutes into the fourth, the lead was gone. The Warriors never got it back, losing 128-120. Brooklyn outscored Golden State 41-28 in the fourth quarter.
Steph Curry scored a team-high 28 points and went 8 of 16 on 3-pointers. Andrew Wiggins added 18. Moses Moody had 15, but all in the first half. Lindy Waters had 13 points for the Warriors, including 10 in the first half.
Inexcusably, the Warriors were once again crushed at the free throw line. The Nets made 26 of 30 free throws. However, the Warriors made 11 of 17 free throws, holding them to 15 fewer free throws and an eight-point deficit.
Here are three takeaways from Golden State’s second straight frustrating loss.
3 point party
As usual in the NBA, the three-point line was clearly the deciding factor between the two teams. Entering Monday, the Warriors and Nets are tied for the top seven in 3-point attempts per game. While Brooklyn was seventh with an average of 40.6 attempts per game, Golden State was just above 41.6 attempts – fourth in the NBA.
It was clear right away that it was going to be a 3-point shootout at the Chase Center. In the first quarter, the Warriors and Nets combined for 48 shots and 31 were from beyond the arc. Although the Warriors were more accurate early in the game, the Nets held a six-point lead and led by four through the first 12 minutes.
The advantage at halftime then belonged to the Warriors. They hit two more 3s than the Nets in the first half and led by nine points. Six fighters have already conceded from deep.
The two teams were then tied at 15 3s apiece in the fourth quarter as the Nets outscored the Warriors 29-25 in the third quarter. The final tally was 20 3s for the Nets and 19 for the Warriors — nearly half of which came from Curry.
Nets coach Jordi Fernandez gave time to nine players and each made at least one three.
Paint the night
When healthy, the Nets are a much longer and taller team than the Warriors. But after several big men, coach Jordi Fernandez turned to 6-foot-6 small forward Ziaire Williams to be his small-ball center, and the Warriors took advantage.
And more than their post, players like Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis contributed to the action.
Whenever Andrew Wiggins plays downhill, it’s a positive for the Warriors. He had a diving layup for the first two minutes and didn’t shy away from contact. Moses Moody also had several reasons to lean on the Nets.
At 6-foot-6, Gary Payton II showed his uniqueness in many ways. With about four minutes left in the first half, Payton sprinted down the court after a missed Nets drive and sealed Cam Thomas (6-foot-4), putting himself in position for a fast break after Brandin Podziemski found him for an easy bucket. Later in the first half, Payton threw down a dunk and Curry missed a three.
The Warriors outscored the Nets by eight points in the first quarter, 12 to 4. By halftime, those numbers increased to 30 for the Warriors, 16 to the Nets’ 14.
In their loss to the Spurs on Saturday, the Warriors enjoyed the paint early, but settled too often as their lead faded. The Warriors more than doubled the points of the Nets 52 to 34, but other aspects of the game were too much to overcome.
Dynamic duo
For more than a decade, the combination of Curry and Draymond Green has completely changed the way basketball can be viewed, both offensively and defensively. One sequence in the third quarter showed exactly how.
Green moved like an All-Pro free safety and scanned the Nets offense before surprising their sensational shooter Cam Thomas. As Thomas sprinted off the dribble as the clock wound down, he thought he would have an opening for a three. Green thought otherwise.
The legendary point guard jumped the switch, closed on Thomas and forced a foul deep in the back of the rim. The ball then bounced to Curry, who took it down court and let it fly from the left wing, splashing Thomas and Jalen Wilson for a 3-pointer.
Curry, fouled on a shot by Wilson, completed the four-point play after celebrating on the floor.
These 30 seconds perfectly show the impact that only Curry and Green can have on a game. After such an ugly loss, they will be forgotten.
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