SAN FRANCISCO – For the second time in six days the Warriors couldn’t take down the Cleveland Cavaliers, losing Saturday night at Chase Center 118-110.
Steph Curry did all he could, scoring 30 points on 9-of-24 shooting. He now has scored 30 or more points in five of the Warriors’ 10 games. Curry also has made at least four 3-pointers in every game this season, extending his NBA record on a night where Curry became the 35th player in league history to score at least 22,000 career points.
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But Curry was held scoreless in the fourth quarter and he received little help. Klay Thompson scored 14 points and Andrew Wiggins added 13. Jonathan Kuminga led the Warriors’ bench with 12 points.
The Cavs used a team effort to take down the Warriors. Six Cavs scored in double figures, led by 22 from Caris LeVert off the bench. LeVert’s 22 points are the most a bench player has scored against the Warriors this season. All five of their starters scored 12 or more points.
What hurt the Warriors the most was them being their own worst enemies. They committed 20 turnovers, and the Cavs turned those into 32 points. The Cavs also had 12 steals on the night as the younger, faster and much longer team.
Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ second straight loss.
Golden State Warriors
Second-Quarter Scaries
The first quarter looked like the Warriors had learned their lessons from their previous matchup against the Cavs. Then the second quarter began, and everything went downhill for the Dubs.
Darius Garland got the Cavs going with a 3-pointer to begin the second quarter, and Cleveland’s offense never looked back. The Warriors were outscored 38-21 in the frame, putting them in a 16-point deficit going into halftime. Cleveland shot 54.2 percent from the field in the second quarter, 54.5 percent from deep (6 of 11) and added six points at the free throw line. The Cavs didn’t turn the ball over once and had five players who already had scored in double figures.
Meanwhile, the Warriors only had one player score 10 or more first-half points – Curry with 17.
The Warriors in the second quarter shot 35 percent overall and 22.2 percent on 3-pointers. They only scored one second-chance point in the second quarter after 11 in the first quarter. The Cavs put up 14 points in the paint during the second quarter, and the Warriors only had four. By halftime, the Warriors only had 11 assists but nine turnovers, and the Cavs already had scored 15 points off turnovers.
The Duality of Draymond
Coming home from a four-game road trip and playing eight games in eight different cities, the Warriors lacked life and energy. Draymond Green was more than willing to provide Golden State what it needed. That is, until Green was sent to the locker room for the rest of the game.
Green midway through the second quarter was assessed a technical foul for arguing with a ref following a loose ball foul. The next quarter, Green was on the wrong side of a video review. First, Green cleanly swiped a steal from Donovan Mitchell, prompting a loose ball foul on the Cavs star shooting guard.
Twenty seconds later, Mitchell retaliated by sprinting across the floor and fouling Green.
However, while video review turned a Mitchell flagrant foul down to a common foul, Green was given his second technical foul of the day for shoving Mitchell before all the hoopla.
Green certainly injected a needed jolt into the Warriors during the third quarter, but his absence was felt. The Warriors outscored the Cavs 31-16 in the third, cutting their deficit to one point going into the fourth quarter.
Cold Klay
Thompson historically picks up steam shooting the ball as the season goes on. On Saturday night, the Warriors badly needed him to catch fire at some point. That never happened.
Through nine games, Thompson is yet to score 20 points. His season high is 19, which he produced in the third game of the season. Thompson’s scoring against the Cavs was too little, too late.
Nine of his 14 points came in the fourth quarter, giving him only five through three quarters. As the Warriors stormed back in the third quarter, Thompson didn’t score a single point. The veteran shooting guard nearly had as many fouls and turnovers, three each, as his five made shots. He was 5 of 16 from the field and 2 of 5 on 3-point attempts.
Thompson this season now is averaging 16.1 points, his lowest since his rookie year.
In a contract year and at 33 years old, the Warriors have to hope this is a short-term issue and not something that will persist.