Warriors falter late against Lakers as slump and mood worsen

On By Littum

SAN FRANCISCO — In what has been a season that quickly spiraled in a disappointing direction, one of the few things the Golden State Warriors have been able to rely on is Andrew Wiggins’ steady perimeter defense.

With five seconds left in Wednesday night’s Christmas showcase game against the Los Angeles Lakers, it was put in the spotlight. Steph Curry’s two miraculous 3s in the final 12.2 seconds suddenly tied the Warriors. They needed a stop to force overtime. Austin Reaves, who had torched them most of the night, had the ball on the left wing isolated against Wiggins.

With a simple jab, Reaves was able to easily blow past Wiggins on a left-handed drive toward the baseline. As relayed after the play, Jonathan Kuminga was too slow to recognize Reaves, who zipped past Wiggins and into his help zone. Kuminga remained too attached to Rui Hachimura, who had floated off the pitch. Wiggins offered little resistance.

It was a breakdown with a fatal outcome: Layup for Reaves and a 115-113 Lakers victory, even without Anthony Davis for most of the game, sending the Warriors deeper into a spiral. They are 3-11 in their last 14 games, dropping to 15-14 after a scorching 12-3 start.

Before the game, starting center Trayce Jackson-Davis said there was a player-led meeting in which Curry was particularly vocal. He identified this upcoming schedule as the Warriors moving back toward .500 with the calendar set to flip at a crucial time of the season, saying, as Jackson-Davis relayed, that it “could go one way or the other.”

“When Steph talks, he talks at the right times,” Wiggins said. “It was needed.”

This was not a lackluster performance by the Warriors. They had some juice, especially curry. He scored a season-high 38 points and made eight 3s, his most ever on Christmas. Wiggins hit three 3s and flew around most of the game, grabbing 12 rebounds, including five on the offensive end. Draymond Green had four blocks. Kuminga had some fouls, but also muscled to the line for eight free throws at some relevant times, making six.

They could have won with a few extra breaks or made shots or defensive stops. But they didn’t, which has been a theme lately. The Warriors lead the NBA in clutch games. Nineteen of their 29 games have been within 5 points in the last five minutes. Thirteen of their last 15 games have qualified. Most everything lately has been tight in the fourth quarter and they keep finding ways to lose.

“It’s been tough trying to find any kind of momentum or consistency,” Curry said of his pregame message. “You just can’t lose the spirit, the belief that we’re a good enough team to figure it out. Because this league is ruthless … You dig yourself a hole that, it can be hard to pull yourself out of . Right now we’re in that window where we can still get some momentum. The next several weeks before the (All-Star) break are crucial. Or we’re in a situation where we’re chasing down the stretch, and nobody want to be there.”

Part of the benefit of the Warriors’ 12-3 start was the idea that a perch atop the conference standings would allow them to selectively manage the workload for Curry and Green throughout the regular season. That luxury has disappeared quickly. The situation has again become acute in an overcrowded West. At 15-14, they are tied for the eighth seed, just two games out of the fifth seed, but only a half-game up on the 11th seed.

Every game, especially against close rivals, is crucial. The Warriors are at the LA Clippers on Friday and at home against the Phoenix Suns on Saturday, two of the closest opponents. Curry played what Steve Kerr called a “tough” 36 minutes against the Lakers, and Kerr said Curry may miss one of the two games. The game in LA seems most likely.

“When the knee (tendinitis) came up, (selective rest) was part of the conversation,” Curry said. “Still dealing with it to some extent.”

The bumps don’t stop with Curry. Gary Payton had a burst layup during a run in the third quarter, but limped on his left calf afterward. Payton has been relatively healthy this season, but a calf problem and the aggravation sent him to the locker room for the rest of the night. He limped out of the arena.


Dennis Schröder guards Austin Reaves in the second half. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Dennis Schröder also limped around the dressing room after the game. He tweaked his right ankle in the middle of what was another ineffective night for Schröder. He hasn’t been the offensive elixir the Warriors had hoped for when they signed him last week. In his four games with the Warriors, Schröder is 11-of-39 shooting and 4-of-17 from 3.

Schröder has been tasked with running the second unit when Curry sits. They were fine in that block of the game against the Lakers, even trimming the Lakers lead from 7 to 3 points during Curry’s short rest in the fourth quarter. But overall, Schröder is part of a rotation that struggles to find any rhythm around Curry as Kerr continues to shake things up.

Jackson-Davis is now back as the starting center. Kuminga has moved into a high-use bench role. Podziemski is the third guard. Kyle Anderson hasn’t seen the floor. Moses Moody didn’t get a second on Wednesday.

“In fairness to our guys, we’ve been all over the map this year, rotation-wise,” Kerr said. “I’ve had a million different starting lineups. Guys are in and out of rotations. I am well aware of that, and it is difficult as a player not to know how many minutes you will get, which minutes you will get. The reality is that we are searching. We have lost 11 out of 14 games. I don’t feel like this is a list where you say, ‘Here’s our top eight guys, top nine guys.’ Our list is really deep. We have a lot of guys that can play. Each game requires something different. That’s the problem.”

(Top photo of Steph Curry after sinking a 3-pointer to tie the game in the fourth quarter: Darren Yamashita/Imagn Images)