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OAKLAND – The Warriors lived through so many exhilarating highs, frustrating lows and plenty of head-scratching moments.
Eventually, though, the Warriors finished with a 110-109 overtime loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday at Oracle Arena because of something that has surprisingly plagued this All-Star laden team.
They could not make a play when they needed it most. Warriors forward Kevin Durant missed a potential game-winning jumper along the right elbow mere seconds after Portland guard Damian Lillard drilled a go-ahead 3-pointer.
“It was a shot I work on every day. I’m pissed I missed that one,” Durant said. “I have to make that shot. I have to make it. Plain and simple.”
The loss does not fall on Durant, though, who finished with 26 points while going 11 of 23 from the field along with 11 assists and 10 rebounds. This loss also does not fall on Stephen Curry, whose turnover while double-teamed set up Lillard’s go-ahead 3-pointer with 6.3 seconds left.
“I obviously want that pass back,” Curry said. “When the trap comes, you have to be patient. We had timeouts. They got the best of me on that one.”
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Not only does Curry escape most of the blame since he also posted 29 points while shooting 11 of 26 from the field and 6 of 15 from beyond the arc along with seven assists and five rebounds. The Warriors (23-13) lost their second consecutive game amid their failure on having consistent offensive execution.
“It was a wild game and it was a strange game,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I didn’t think we competed very well in the first half. I loved the way we competed in the second half. With that type of intensity and competitiveness for the whole game, then we’re in business. But we have to put it together for 48 minutes.”
What was up with the Warriors’ free-throw shooting?
There’s plenty to dissect of the final minutes of regulation and overtime. Or Klay Thompson’s continued shooting struggles (15 points on 6-of-19 shooting, 2 of 9 from 3-point range). Or Draymond Green’s mixed success in becoming a scoring threat (15 points on 7-of-15 shooting, 1 of 4 on 3-pointers). But none of these continuing issues would have matter had the Warriors simply made their free throws. Instead, they went 6 of 15 from the line.
“Definitely stings when you leave money out there,” said Durant who, went 2 of 4 from the line. “Unacceptable to miss that many free throws. We’re pretty efficient at the line.”
The Warriors normally shoot 83 percent from the line on an average of 22 attempts per game. Not only did the Warriors take seven fewer fouls shots than their season average, their most important players failed to hit at the line. Curry went 1 of 3, while Thompson went 1 of 4. Kevon Looney, who started at center for the second consecutive game, missed his two shot attempts.
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“We’re going to get out of it. But when you’re not quite right, different things happen and strange things happen,” Kerr said. “The foul line stuff was kind of bizarre. But I’ve seen it before. It happens occasionally.”
Or in the Warriors’ case, rarely. Only one other time in the last four years under Kerr, did the Warriors ever shoot below 50 percent from the free-throw line. The Warriors went 47.1 percent from the foul line in a 112-85 win over New Orleans on Dec. 4, 2014.
“I started soft missing two in a row. I think that got to us a bit,” Durant said. “I have to knock mine down. I think that will get up everybody’s confidence at the line.”
(Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Klay Thompson had mixed success getting out of his shooting funk
Thompson has proclaimed apathy and has even refused to call his struggles a shooting slump. Kerr likened Thompson’s shooting stroke to golfer Iron Byron, adding, “I’ve never seen a technically sound than Klay Thompson’s. It’s spectacular.”
But the Warriors have tried so, so hard to get Thompson going. Thompson has as well. And the results still mostly feature either clanks or nips at the rim.Green set up Thompson for a layup off a back-door cut on the first play to get him going. Thompson then nailed his first 3-point attempt. It took him only nine minutes to post seven points on 3-of-5 shooting, eclipsing his output on Christmas Day in a loss to the Lakers (5 points on 2-of-7 clip and 1-of-3 mark from 3). Then, the same issues emerged.
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Thompson’s second 3-point attempt hit the side of the rim. He then attempted a pull-up jumper that fell short. He then committed a foul and clapped his hands in frustration. He then missed four more shots.
The frustration continued. In the third quarter, Thompson collected a steal only to throw a pass to Green that ended in a backcourt violation. Green set up Thompson for an open 3-pointer. He missed. Curry grabbed a rebound and set up Thompson again for another open 3. Another miss.
Thompson finally made a 3-pointer to cut Portland’s lead to 70-66 with 3:10 left in the third quarter after Blazers guard Evan Turner bulldozed him. But then, Thompson missed the foul shot. He grabbed a rebound, drew a foul and then split two foul shots. Nearly 20 seconds later, Thompson missed another outside shot and a finger roll.
“There’s a human element to all of this, which can enter into the equation through fatigue or whatever,” Kerr said. “I’ve never met a basketball player who didn’t encounter streaks, bad spells or whatever. It doesn’t matter what you’re talking about. Reggie Miller. Ray Allen. Steve Nash or Larry Bird. It’s just part of sports at the highest level. The key is how you get out of it. I’m very confident that Klay will get out of it and it doesn’t require any technical tweaking to his shots. It’s more a rhythm and flow and feel that he’s felt a million times. It’s going to come back to him.”
That did not happen against Portland. As much as he remained ineffective with his shot, Thompson still followed his usual custom in trying to find other ways to make an impact. Thompson heavily guarded Lillard when he missed a 29-foot 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left at the end of regulation.
“The defense that Klay played on him at the end of regulation was solid,” Curry said. “Didn’t let him get a clean look at all.”
Through the missed shots, frustrated body language and refusal to give up on defense, it does not appear likely Thompson would react well to any suggestion that he sit out for a game to clear his mind and recharge his body. Even if he has logged heavy minutes recently against Portland (39), Utah (37), Sacramento (38) and Minnesota (37). Normally, Kerr wants to limit his four All-Stars between 32 to 36 minutes in regular-season games.
“I don’t know if he would let me do that. I haven’t thought about it,” Kerr said about resting Thompson. “It’s not out of the equation. We always could do that. It’s a long season and we’re still in the first half. I think Klay would much rather play right now. I have no doubt he’s going to get out there and start knocking down shots and we’ll turn our attention elsewhere.”
(Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Green had mixed success in becoming assertive again
Finally, Green could talk some trash again. He drilled a corner 3-pointer to give the Warriors a 109-107 lead with 51.8 seconds in overtime. So when he made the unexpected shot, Green predictably jawed at the Blazers’ bench. Just imagine what he would have said had the Warriors won.
Nonetheless, that 3-pointer signified the relative progress he showed in rectifying his recent offensive issues. It appeared more of the same when he finished the first half with two points on 1-of-5 shooting and 0 of 2 on 3-pointers along with five rebounds, six assists and three turnovers. Some of those miscues included biting on a pump fake and throwing the ball at Thompson’s face.
In the second half and overtime, though, Green finished with 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting and 1-of-2 from beyond the arc with seven rebounds, an assist and three fouls.
Green has not returned fully back to form. But he appeared increasingly more decisive and aggressive, two areas he argued he has lacked in recent games. Still, opposing teams will likely leave Green uncovered until he exposes them. Time will only tell when those teams will need to change the scouting report.
“It’s not going to just turn overnight,” Kerr said. “Some of the things we worked out, I thought were effective. Some of them were not. So we’re going to have to continue to work on those counters over the coming weeks and get more comfortable with that stuff.”
Have Curry and Durant felt tempted simply to take over?
As the clock ticked away, Curry and Durant showed more muscle than the Warriors’ so-called strength in numbers. Curry posted 11 points while going 4 of 10 from the field and 3 of 8 from 3-point range. Durant added 10 points, while shooting 3 of 5 overall, 2 of 4 on 3-pointers and 2 of 4 from the foul line.
With the Warriors’ offensive consistency no longer lethal, has that made Curry to feel tempted simply to take over the offense in moments besides crunch time?
“We know how to make shots. We know how to score. You want to get the ball moving obviously and get the defense having to make decisions,” Curry said. “When you’re coming off screens and have open looks, you got to shoot those and live with the results knowing the skillset we have on this team.”
The Warriors’ skillset usually involves another dependable shooter (Thompson) and playmaker (Green). They have a wild-card reserves with Andre Iguodala, Jonas Jerebko and Alfonzo McKinnie providing some outside shots. But even with the Warriors’ offense suddenly becoming stagnant, neither Curry nor Durant looked to take over until the end of the game. That mirrors Kerr’s insistence on prioritizing ball movement and offensive balance instead of catering to the team’s star players.
“We just have to keep searching for good shots,” Durant said. “I think we had a lot of good ones that we missed. I know it’s difficult when we miss shots, especially wide-open ones. It takes the energy out of the arena when you shoot a jump shot and the crowd is like, ‘Ohhh’ we missed shots. That’s a part of basketball. We have to keep our heads up when we miss the good shots. Knowing that we generate good shots, that’s what we want. If we get a wide-open look for a 3, we want that. Down the line we know we’re eventually going to hit them if we create open looks.”
The Warriors have often talked about the balance in adhering to ball movement, while leaning on whichever star player is making shots. Last week, Durant offered nuance that ball movement does not solve everything to counter adjusting defenses. Following their latest loss to Portland, though, the Warriors spoke more about staying patient with following through on the adjustments they already have made.
“We’re very open and transparent in our locker room. Coach has done a good job of keeping it really with us in terms of when we’re not playing our best basketball,” Curry said. “We have to figure it out. But we’re together and the message tonight is fight your way through it. Whatever you need to do to get your mind right or joy with what you have to do. Win or lose, it matters. But how we’re playing and continuing to build those habits will get us through it.”
DeMarcus Cousins’ will travel with the Warriors on their upcoming trip
*Kerr said that DeMarcus Cousins’ full-court scrimmage on Wednesday went “fine.” But Kerr offered no details on Cousins’ progress with rehabbing his left Achilles tendon.
“The curtain was down for a reason,” Kerr said.
In other words, it appears unclear what Cousins’ upcoming workload entails. He will travel with the Warriors on their two-game, four-day trip to Portland (Saturday) and Phoenix (Monday). Since their Santa Cruz G League team is currently in Iowa, the Warriors have no immediate plans for Cousins to complete any full practices with them. But Cousins could scrimmage against with the Warriors during their scheduled practice on Sunday.
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Originally Published: December 27, 2018 at 10:13 PM PST
