SAN FRANCISCO — Not even a beginning lineup change was sufficient to jolt the Warriors out of their latest offensive funk Saturday evening. They didn’t play very nicely defensively, both, as Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić was a dominant pressure all sport.
All of it added as much as a 132-122 Warriors loss, their third in a row, as they dropped two video games underneath .500 at 15-17.
It wasn’t nice, but it surely wasn’t all unhealthy.
The Warriors made a powerful fourth-quarter surge to drag inside 119-114 on a Chris Paul 3-pointer. Paul, who reached a significant milestone when he scored his 22,000th profession level earlier within the evening, began for simply the eighth time in 29 video games with Golden State, as he and rookie heart Trayce Jackson-Davis changed rookie guard Brandin Podziemski and veteran massive man Kevon Looney within the lineup.
Stephen Curry shook off one other gradual begin and located his taking pictures stroke within the second half when Golden State made its greatest run. He hit two clutch 3-pointers within the fourth quarter to maintain the Warriors shut earlier than the Mavs (19-14) sealed the deal.
Curry, who had been in a mini taking pictures stoop recently, missed six of his first seven shot makes an attempt, however he got here again sturdy within the second half, ending with 25 factors on 9-of-25 taking pictures from the sphere whereas additionally handing out seven assists.
Gary Payton II returned to the Warriors and was greeted with a rousing ovation from the Chase Middle crowd when he checked in late within the first half. The veteran guard performed fewer than 10 minutes and didn’t make a lot of an influence, which isn’t stunning, contemplating he’d missed one month with a calf harm.
Listed here are three takeaways from Golden State’s newest loss.
Klay’s shot once more off the mark
After showing to interrupt out of his early season scoring stoop in latest weeks, Klay Thompson’s taking pictures woes arose once more. The Warriors guard was 1 of 9 within the first half and missed each of his pictures within the second half, ending with three factors — his second-fewest of the season.
Much more telling was that Thompson was on the bench for many of the fourth quarter when the sport nonetheless was considerably doubtful.
It will proceed to gasoline hypothesis that the Warriors ought to commerce Thompson, however don’t count on that to occur. Like he was after his earlier troubles, Thompson must be high-quality, along with his stats again to anticipated ranges by the tip of the season.
No stopping Luka
The Warriors tried nearly all the pieces they might to comprise Dončić, and never a lot of it labored. Thompson, Payton, Paul, Jackson-Davis, Looney, Jonathan Kuminga and Andrew Wiggins all took turns guarding the Mavs star with out a lot success.
Dončić scored 14 factors as a part of Dallas’ 38-point third quarter, and completed so near a triple-double, with 39 factors, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
Even when the Warriors had been in a position to gradual him down, Dončić stored discovering methods to make a distinction. Twice, Golden State appeared to have him locked down, solely to see the NBA MVP candidate discover a technique to make alley-oop passes for dunks.
Protection has been considerably of a difficulty all season lengthy for the Warriors, who should right that in the event that they wish to make a run within the Western Convention.
Paul shines as starter
Along with reaching the profession scoring milestone, Paul adjusted to enjoying with Golden State’s beginning unit simply high-quality. He had 24 factors, with six 3-pointers, and 6 assists in 33 minutes.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr mentioned two days earlier that Paul was an anchor on the second unit, so will probably be fascinating to see how for much longer he stays within the beginning group. However on an evening when the Warriors’ offense was constantly inconsistent, the 38-year-old stepped up and shot 9 of 14 from the sphere. He additionally did pretty nicely when paired on Doncic, which is one other encouraging signal.
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