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Warriors’ depth displays lack of knockout ability without Steph originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – For most of the first half Wednesday night at Chase Center, the distance between the first- and second-place teams in the NBA’s Western Conference was so vast one could not see 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 failing to find answers to the problems posed by conference-leading Oklahoma City.
Not until the final four minutes of the half did the Warriors find their fury. They closed the half with a 12-5 run, and the momentum carried into the third quarter as they outscored the Thunder 20-12 in the first six minutes. They won the quarter by 11, reenergizing the sellout crowd (18,064) and restoring belief in themselves.
Defense and some high-velocity play from the second unit to turn a game that wasn’t into one that was – until Golden State’s offensive shortcomings resurfaced late and were the culprit in a 105-101 loss that goes into the never-welcome “moral victory” file.
“We were awful 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.”
After trailing by as much as 19, the Warriors rode waves created by Slow-Mo Euros from Kyle Anderson, Pat Spencer’s spunk, Draymond Green’s blocks, Brandin Podziemski’s pluck, Jonathan Kuminga’s bursts 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 roads that the Warriors, with two or three buckets down the stretch, could have jogged to surprising victory.
But effort and good intentions are no match for a scoring drought that lasts more than five minutes. The Warriors’ comeback hopes raged when an Anderson layup…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/warriors-depth-displays-lack-knockout-082734338.html
Author : NBC Sports BayArea
Publish date : 2024-11-28 08:31:00
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