The hunt for that gloriously pivotal victory, the triumph that rights the wrongs that have nagged the Warriors and plants them the path to success, has come up empty in the six weeks since the All-Star break. It has been maddeningly elusive.
They might have found it on Saturday.
Their 111-107 win over the Utah Jazz exposed the worst of the Warriors, followed by the very best they can be without Stephen Curry. Dragging a four-game losing streak into the most consequential game of the final month, the Warriors dug deeper than they have at any time this season and prevailed.
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“Yeah,” Klay Thompson, who scored a game-high 36 points, concluded. “I can’t wait until Steph comes back. That will be a sight for sore eyes for everybody. We should win these next three (actually four) games if we play with that energy we did tonight. A very winnable stretch to feel good about ourselves come season’s end.”
Officially clinching a berth in the playoffs, Golden State is sitting in third place in the Western Conference, one game up on the fourth-place Mavericks and three games ahead of both the Jazz and the Nuggets. The Warriors know what is at stake.
“I don’t think we talked about it,” said Jordan Poole, who had 31 points, six rebounds and six assists. “We just know that we need to go out there and win games. Last game, we had a lot of energy, a lot of positive things, and we just tried to take the momentum and bring it over. It really just showed a lot about our team and the guys on our team, to be able to come back from the deficit we (faced) against a really good team and win.”
Golden State’s last two weeks have been the worst of any team, in either conference, in or close to a playoff spot. The struggle has been real. Thus, the search for that exhilarating game that pulls them out of mediocrity.
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There was internal hope that beating the Bucks three weeks ago at Chase Center would generate significant momentum. The Warriors responded to that by losing three of their next four games.
That hope resurfaced after a stirring win over the Heat 10 days ago in Miami, after which the Warriors lost their next four games, two of which were against sub-.500 teams.
This victory, however, has a different feel. Perhaps because it came against an opponent the Warriors could see in the first round of the playoffs. The Warriors fell behind by 21 points in the first half – the ninth time in the last 10 games that they stumbled into a double-digit deficit in the first half – before coming together in the fourth quarter for a scintillating 24-4 finish over the final seven minutes.
“It just took heart,” said Gary Payton II, who had 10 points, five assists and three rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench.
The Warriors owned the fourth quarter by locking down on defense, with Andrew Wiggins shutting out Utah star Donovan Mitchell. Draymond Green and Otto Porter Jr. battled in the paint, while Thompson and Poole scored 19 of their 30 points in the quarter.
“It was amazing,” coach Steve Kerr said. “What a performance. We lost the first few minutes of the fourth quarter 12-2. We took a timeout, felt like we had enough time. But we didn’t have much momentum. I was just amazed by the skill of Klay and Jordan. The emotion and passion from Draymond. And then the methodical defense and energy from Andrew and Otto.”
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The Warriors spent the first two months scorching the rest of the NBA, carrying the league’s best record into January, before skidding so hard the past three months that they didn’t secure their postseason berth until six other teams already had.
Neither of the next two game, at Sacramento on Sunday and at home against the Lakers on Thursday, are against teams in prime playoff position. The final two games, a back-to-back set at San Antonio and at New Orleans, are certain to have consequences for all parties.
This victory had all the ingredients required to prepare the Warriors for what’s to come over the final eight days. Fell behind. Came back. Found defensive edge in time to close out a win.
They’re in position to possess the No. 3-seed, which is as good as it gets after all they’ve put themselves through.