Dubs stifled by Heat's zone, expect to see that defense more

Share

The Warriors after losing 116-109 Tuesday night to the Miami Heat at FTX Arena now have dropped their first three games of their five-game road trip. And there is an ugly theme to all three losses. 

Closing time hasn't been their friend. The defending champions faltered one way or another in all three fourth quarters. 

"I thought we played well enough to win," Steve Kerr said after the loss. "We didn't close the game." 

To start off Golden State's first long road trip of the young season, the Warriors opened with the Charlotte Hornets, a game on paper that looked like a sure win. That seemed to be the case, up until the final minute of regulation. The Warriors blew a four-point lead with under a minute to go and ended up losing by seven points in overtime

The next night, they trailed by nine points going into the fourth quarter against the one-win Detroit Pistons and couldn't cut the deficit to lower than seven points as they struggled to make stops and went cold from long distance. On Tuesday night in Miami, the Warriors led by eight points going into the fourth, had a chance to sweep their season series with the Heat and put an end to this losing streak. 

Instead, the Warriors played right into the Heat's hands and were completely outplayed in the final frame. 

"I give Miami credit, they stifled us in those last five minutes with their zone and they were super active in it," Kerr said. "We've got to look at that. I expect we'll see some more of that. Miami, we knew they were going to be competitive like they always are, but especially coming in at 2-5 and playing a home game.

Golden State Warriors

Find the latest Golden State Warriors news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.

Warriors get risky, invite capricious Butler into their home

Why Wiggins' five-year Warriors tenure deserves its flowers

"We got their best punch in that fourth quarter and we just couldn't quite close the deal."

Miami went to its zone defense and the Warriors did what Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra had hoped for. Their first shot attempt was a missed 3-pointer from Jordan Poole. The Warriors actually made two 3-pointers in the first minute-plus of the fourth quarter, but quickly became uncomfortable on offense. 

Overall, the Warriors shot 28.6 percent (6-for-21) from the floor in the fourth quarter and 20 percent (3-for-15) from deep. After catching fire for 11 points in the third quarter, Klay Thompson went 1-for-5 in the fourth and missed all three of his 3-pointers. That includes a rushed three in the corner with the score tied at 104 points apiece. Andrew Wiggins went 4-for-5 on threes in the first three quarters, and missed both of his long-distance attempts in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors turned the ball over six times in the fourth quarter, which was two more than their four assists. 

Shots stopped falling. All flow and rhythm was lost. And the Warriors didn't attempt a single free throw over those final 12 minutes. 

"I guess we just couldn't execute the plays that we wanted to execute because of the zone," Wiggins said. "They just made us switch up our rhythm. It was messing up our rhythm a little bit."

Comparatively, the Heat in the fourth quarter had eight assists and two turnovers. They stole the ball three times, shot 47.8 percent (11-for-23) from the field and made five 3-pointers. That led to them doubling the Warriors' fourth-quarter point totals, 30-15. 

To a defensive-minded star like Draymond Green, it all comes down to stops -- something the Warriors couldn't piece together in the fourth quarter. 

"What it boils down to at the end of the day is stops," Green said. "We have lacked these first eight games in getting stops. In order to win games, close games down the stretch, you score points -- that's great. 

"But you have to get stops." 

When it mattered most, the Warriors did neither. What might be the most frustrating part is the fact that the loss came on a night full of positives. 

RELATED: Steph upset over 'awful' overturned foul call vs. Heat

Steph Curry made it clear that this team isn't about moral victories, though he and Kerr both believe there is plenty to build off. Curry himself did it all with his 10th career regular-season triple-double, scoring 23 points, along with 13 assists and 13 rebounds. He grabbed seven of the Warriors' 11 rebounds in the fourth quarter. 

Klay Thompson tied his season-high in points (19) and threes (four), and his seven made shots were his most in a game this season. Wiggins through three quarters was phenomenal, where he had 19 points, a season-high five assists and was a plus-25 in plus-minus. He was then a team-worst minus-17 in the fourth. 

Starting off, the Warriors played with focus, intent and execution. Then they allowed a 20-3 run to end the first quarter. Costly mistakes came back in the fourth quarter, and the Warriors have a day to find answers before starting the first night of a back-to-back Thursday in Orlando and then Friday in New Orleans to put an cap on what has been an ugly trip thus far.

The building blocks appeared in another loss, now it's time to put it all together.

Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast

Contact Us