Warriors’ depth shows lack of knockout ability without Steph

Warriors’ depth shows lack of knockout ability without Steph originally appeared 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 you couldn’t tell the other with the naked eye.

The second-place Warriors, deeply compromised without superstar point guard Stephen Curry, spent 20 minutes testing their physical limits but failed to find answers to the woes of conference-leading Oklahoma City.

Only in the final four minutes of the half did the Warriors find their fury. They closed the half on a 12-5 run and the momentum continued into the third quarter as they outscored the Thunder 20-12 in the first six minutes. They won the quarter by 11, reinvigorating the sell-out crowd (18,064) and restoring self-belief.

Defense and some high-speed play from the second unit to turn a game that wasn’t into one that was — until Golden State’s offensive deficiencies resurfaced late and were the culprit in a 105-101 loss that goes into the never welcome “moral victory” file.

“We were terrible in the first quarter,” coach Steve Kerr said. “But I loved everything I saw the last three quarters. The energy, the defense, the rotations. Guys were flying around with a lot of good individual contributions. That’s our team. That’s who we are.”

Trailing by as many as 19, the Warriors rode waves created by Slow-Mo Euros from Kyle Anderson, Pat Spencer’s spunkDraymond Green’s blocks, Brandin Podziemski’s picks, Jonathan Kuminga’s outburst and Buddy Hield’s triples.

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 enough open doors, alleys and avenues that the Warriors, with two or three buckets down the stretch, could have run to a surprising victory.

But effort and good intentions are no match for a scoring drought that lasts more than five minutes. The Warriors’ comeback hopes fizzled when an Anderson layup made for a 96-93 lead with 5:45 left. Hope fizzled out as they missed their next 14 shots.

“I didn’t think we made any big decisions down the stretch, the last five minutes,” Kerr said. “It’s pick-and-roll time late in the game, and with Steph out, it makes it 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 so reliant on its depth — which, on paper, is a tangible asset — the Warriors looked remarkably unimpressive without Curry available to expand offensive options.

Andrew Wiggins and Kuminga tried to fill the late game scoring void, but shot a combined 1 of 8 in the fourth quarter. Only Anderson, with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting, was able to muster an effective offense.

The result was a string of empty possessions with Green pointing the finger at himself for the offense’s stalling. Which is brave, but not entirely accurate.

“We just have to settle down and make sure we get into something,” Green said. “Put in some sets. We were a little spread out and that’s on me.

“When the match gets to that point, somebody’s got to slow the game down and get us into a set. I’m the veteran out there. I’m the one with the most experience out there. So I’ve got to get my head out of my ass, take the ball and get us into a set. Something that would be beneficial for all of us.”

“Everybody wanted it. JK was getting to the hole; he wanted it. (Wiggins) got into the paint a couple of times; he wanted it. (Podziemski) did, too. But our spacing wasn’t right, so they were able to collapse in the paint. And we didn’t have the right kick-outs because we weren’t getting into anything. It was just guys making plays themselves.”

The Thunder (14-4) left town still in first place, while the Warriors (12-6) entered the night with their third straight loss and tumbled into third place one game behind the second-place Houston Rockets.

Curry, sitting out with pain in both knees, watched from the bench. Kerr is optimistic about him returns Saturday to face the sun in Phoenix. But on this night, the absence of the NBA’s reigning Clutch Player of the Year was too much for Golden State’s offense to overcome.

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