SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors lost to the Sacramento Kings 109-106 in an overtime game Saturday where they squandered a few opportunities. Stephen Curry (35 points, 20 shots) played brilliantly save for misses on two would-be game-winners.
That aspect stoked some frustration, but Warriors coach Steve Kerr was more peeved with his team’s overall play. “It was one of the worst games we’ve played all season,” Kerr declared. “We had no purpose. The ball didn’t move. I didn’t even recognize our team out there tonight. Maybe we were due for one.”
Still, Golden State has to come away from the loss feeling fortunate. In the second quarter, Draymond Green suffered the kind of fall that probably sent shudders of fear across the Bay Area. Green, coming off a one-game absence because of a right-shoulder injury, was raring to go. He was pushing particularly hard in transition in this one. On the play where he fell, Green zoomed into the lane, tossing a layup attempt past a DeMarcus Cousins challenge. The layup missed high and Green tumbled low, rolling to the right of the stanchion, then gripping his right leg. What followed was a nervous time, as Green rocked back and forth in apparent pain before limping to the locker room.
It looked like a road fork in a season that had been going apace, even as the Warriors' lineups have been scrambled of late. The pieces have been jostled, but the machine didn't stop. Golden State has suffered a spate of injuries and absences that might be noticed ... if they'd had any noticeable impact. Instead, it's more of the same: medium-long win streaks, interrupted by the occasional hiccup. It was hard to tell if this was the hiccup or a Waterloo. Fortunately, for the Warriors, it was the former.
Green came bounding back in, standing over Steve Kerr's huddle like a gargoyle, awaiting his reentry into the game. It would come, and he would play like the Draymond Green with whom we're familiar.
Green was fired up, but the Warriors were listless throughout, particularly Kevin Durant who had one of his less forceful games.
After the game, Kerr said of of Durant’s performance, “Kevin looked tired tonight. I think he was out of gas.”
When told of that, Durant said, “I wasn’t tired,” before explaining, “I just gotta be more aggressive, I’ve got to shoot more. I was trying to make the right play but sometimes just got to break it off and go score. Just be aggressive and make a play. Felt like I was just swinging it through, screening.”
Durant ended with 10 points while playing 42 minutes, one of his least productive games. According to ESPN Stats & Information, it was his lowest point total when playing at least 40 minutes in his career (273 games, including Saturday).
Golden State’s listless tone changed after third-quarter fouls picked up by young Kevon Looney, of all people. Looney received a questionable call when tangled up with Cousins. On the next play, Looney delivered what would have been his play of the year, a running putback of a Durant layup, only to then get that basket rescinded by another dubious call.
Green, whose vigor had not been sapped, voiced his objections and received a technical. It was less an explosion than the spark that lit the fuse, as Kerr proceeded to rush midcourt like a linebacker, with assistant coach Mike Brown futilely attempting to act as a blocker. Following Kerr's ejection, the Warriors went on a brief surge, with Curry and Klay Thompson nailing back-to-back 3-pointers.
Sacramento was formidable Saturday night, though, seizing a seven-point lead during Curry's fourth-quarter rest. Anthony Tolliver hit timely 3-pointers and other Kings benefited handsomely from Cousins' attacks and kickouts.
The Warriors might have won in regulation had a Curry 3-pointer nestled its way home. Curry's 3 seemingly hit every part of the iron as he backed away, reacting to every bounce of the ball. Instead it went into overtime, where Golden State quickly found itself fighting an uphill battle.
Matt Barnes fired the first salvo with a 3-pointer that rattled in. Cousins followed that with a layup off a post-up on Green. On the next Kings score, Cousins danced beautifully into a Eurostep and finish, and the Kings were up seven.
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The Warriors found their way back, first on a foul drawn by Green (off of their pet play, "Cyclone"), then on a Curry 3-pointer generated by a Green steal. They failed to find pay dirt, however, on two open Thompson 3-pointers in the overtime. Neither qualified as the most painful miss of the evening, though.
Down one, with a baseline out-of-bounds play and 6.2 seconds remaining, Curry sprung improbably free. He lofted one of his signature, high-arc layups over a Tolliver contest. The shot, normally an easy one for Curry, fell shockingly short. Of the play, Curry said, “Kind of rushed it. Saw Tolliver coming over, but it didn’t really affect it. I just missed it.”
The Warriors got a final chance to tie on a straightaway Green 3, but that one missed long. There’s a sting to Golden State being 0-3 in overtimes so far this season, and though they should have played better, this game also could have been far worse. While the Warriors likely have regrets regarding the fourth quarter and beyond, they have to look to an ambulatory Draymond Green and realize this one could have been worse.
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