What we learned as Warriors’ late-game woes continue in loss to Nets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
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SAN FRANCISCO – No lead is safe in the NBA, as the Warriors learned again Monday night at Chase Center against the rebuilding, cash-strapped Brooklyn Nets.
The Warriors led by 17 points in the third quarter on Saturday in San Antonio and ultimately lost by 10 points. After a day of rest, the Warriors enjoyed an 18-point lead over the Nets in the third quarter. That lead was then cut to just five entering the fourth quarter.
Just over three minutes into the fourth, the lead was gone. The Warriors never got it back and lost 128-120. Brooklyn outscored Golden State 41-28 in the fourth quarter.
Steph Curry scored a team-high 28 points, making 8 of 16 on three-pointers. Andrew Wiggins added 18. Moses Moody had 15, but all in the first half. Lindy Waters gave the Warriors 13 points, including 10 in the first half.
Inexcusable fashion, the Warriors were crushed at the free throw line again. The Nets made 26 of their 30 free throws. However, the Warriors shot 11 of 17 free throws, making 15 fewer free throws in an eight-point loss.
Here are three takeaways from Golden State’s second consecutive frustrating loss.
3-point game
As is often the case in the NBA, the deciding factor between these two teams would clearly be the three-point line. Entering Monday, the Warriors and Nets both ranked in the top seven in three-point attempts per game. While Brooklyn was seventh, with an average of 40.6 attempts per game, Golden State was slightly above that with 41.6 attempts – fourth in the NBA.
It was immediately clear that it would be a 3-point shootout at Chase Center. In the first quarter, the Warriors and Nets combined for 48 shots, and 31 were from beyond the arc. Although the Warriors started the game more accurately, the Nets had a six-point lead from deep in the first twelve minutes and led by four.
The advantage at halftime then belonged to the Warriors. They hit two more threes than the Nets in the first half and led by nine points. Six Warriors had already taken a deep hit.
Both teams were then tied at 15 3s apiece entering the fourth quarter, as the Nets outscored the Warriors 29-25 in the third quarter. The final total was 20 3s for the Nets and 19 for the Warriors – with almost half coming from Curry.
Nets coach Jordi Fernandez gave nine players time, and each made at least one three.
Paint night
The Nets, when healthy, are a much taller and bigger team than the Warriors. But after beating several big men, coach Jordi Fernandez turned to 6-foot-4 small forward Ziaire Williams to be his small-ball center, and the Warriors took advantage.
And more than their post players like Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis contributed to the action.
When Andrew Wiggins plays downhill, it’s a positive for the Warriors. Within the first two minutes he had a diving layup and did not shy away from contact. Moses Moody also had several reasons for targeting the Nets.
Standing at 6-foot-1, Gary Payton II showed his uniqueness in many ways. With about four minutes left in the first half, Payton sprinted down the court after a Nets missed layup and closed down Cam Thomas (6-foot-1), putting him in position for a fastbreak layup after Brandin Podziemski found him for an easy bucket. Later in the first half, Payton threw down a dunk off a Curry that missed three.
The Warriors had eight more points in the paint than the Nets in the first quarter, 12 to 4. By halftime, those numbers rose to 30 points in the paint for the Warriors, 16 more than the Nets’ 14.
In their Saturday night loss to the Spurs, the Warriors enjoyed the paint early but settled far too often as their lead unraveled. The Warriors scored more than twice the Nets’ points in the paint, 52 to 34, but other aspects of the game were too much to overcome.
Dynamic duo
For over a decade, the combination of Curry and Draymond Green has completely changed the way basketball can be viewed, both offensively and defensively. One sequence in the third quarter showed exactly how.
Green wandered around as an All-Pro free safety, probing the Nets’ offense before surprising their sensational scorer Cam Thomas. As Thomas turned down a dribble handoff with the shot clock running, he thought he had an opening for a three. Groen thought differently.
The legendary defender jumped the switch, locked down Thomas and forced an errant shot deep off the back of the rim. The ball then bounced to Curry, who brought it across the court and sent it flying from the left wing, splashing a triple to Thomas and Jalen Wilson.
Curry was fouled on Wilson’s shot and completed the four-point play after cheering on the floor.
Those 30 seconds perfectly demonstrate the impact that only Curry and Green can have on the game. They will also be forgotten after such an ugly loss.
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