Curry looks fresh but lacks support in Warriors’ 30-point loss to Kings
SAN FRANCISCO — One team added its star guard back to its starting lineup; the other’s spent Sunday night in street clothes.
The results may surprise you.
Despite playing with a well-rested Steph Curry, the Warriors (18-17) otherwise looked listless in a 129-99 loss to the Sacramento Kings (17-19), who were missing All-Star De’Aaron Fox and fired their head coach less than two weeks ago. They matched a season-worst with 22 turnovers, never held a lead and trailed by such a large margin that Curry spent the entire fourth quarter on the bench with a towel draped over his head.
“That was the game, to me,” coach Steve Kerr said of the Warriors’ carelessness. “Just right from the start, we were turning it over. The turnovers didn’t feel forced, either. They felt more decision-based, and that’s what was disappointing, knowing that Sacramento likes to play fast and get up and down the floor.”
Curry finished with a team-high 26 points, including 20 of Golden State’s 51 in the first half, while connecting on seven of his first eight shots from the field (4 for 5 from 3). However, his supporting cast — minus Jonathan Kuminga (ankle), Gary Payton II (calf) and Brandon Podziemski (abdomen) — failed to keep up with the Kings.
Earlier in the day, the Warriors learned they would be without Kuminga for at least the next three weeks after an MRI revealed a “significant” ankle sprain, and the early returns on his replacement as an offensive partner for Curry weren’t particularly encouraging.
Andrew Wiggins scored 18 points in 26 minutes, but Golden State’s offense stalled out without Curry on the floor. Moses Moody (13 points) and Draymond Green (10) were the only other Warriors to reach double figures, and Kerr said they lacked a “sense of purpose” on their possessions.
“Each game requires something gameplan-wise that you have to focus on, and we sort of lost that tonight,” Kerr said.
Defensively, the Warriors didn’t provide much resistance to a Kings team missing its leading scorer. In place of Fox (26.7 PPG), who was resting a sore hip, eight Kings players scored in double figures, including double-doubles from Damantas Sabonis (22 points, 13 rebounds) and Malik Monk (26 points, 12 assists).
“Point of attack, they were getting downhill on us and we’re having to help and then they’re spreading the floor,” Kerr said. “They’ve got shooting everywhere. They’ve built a team in the last couple years that can shoot from 1 through 4, so they spread us out and did a great job.”
Sacramento turned the Warriors’ 22 turnovers into 34 points and connected on 19 of its 43 attempts from beyond the arc (51.7% overall).
“Turnovers killed us tonight,” said Kevon Looney, who added nine points and five rebounds. “Sacramento played a great game, but we helped them with our offense, turning the ball over and letting them get out and run, make shots and do what they do. Turnovers definitely played a huge factor.”
The rout was a rarity for the Warriors, who had been involved in more clutch games (within 5 points in the final 5 minutes) than any other team in the NBA. It was their second-widest margin of any loss this season. So uncompetitive, Curry accrued all his numbers in the first three quarters. Trailing 105-75 by the start of the final period, there was no point in putting additional strain on a 37-year-old with tendonitis in both his knees.
“A loss is a loss, but it’s not any more alarming than any other loss,” Kerr said. “This is the NBA these days. It’s such a fast game with so many 3s that there are just going to be some nights where everything goes your way or everything goes the other team’s way.”
After beating the Grizzlies the previous night while Curry rested, the Warriors appeared to have emerged from the doldrums of a 3-12 stretch that negated a 12-3 start. They had strung together wins for the first time in six weeks, were looking ahead to a softening schedule and were getting a freshly rested Curry back.
“I thought we had been headed in the right direction over this home stand,” Looney said. “Every night isn’t perfect, but I think we’re doing better habits. Tonight was a tough one. We didn’t play to our standard. We didn’t play poised like we usually do. We’ll be better. I think tonight was just one of those days and we’re heading in the right direction.”
Curry got off to the start expected from somebody who got the previous night off. By halftime, he had completed more 4-point plays (two) than he had missed shots (one, on seven attempts, including five from 3). But the Warriors allowed the Kings to shoot 57.4% from the field, pouring in more first-half points than any opponent all season besides the Cavaliers (83 on November 8) or Mavericks (81 on December 15).
It was Curry’s seventh 20-point half of the season and only the second time in his career that he recorded multiple 4-point plays in one game. His second, with Sabonis flying in his face, capped a flurry that cut the Kings’ advantage from 15 points to four in a span of 1:07, but the Warriors were outscored 35-16 over the remainder of the quarter and took a 75-51 deficit into intermission.
The Warriors never recovered from a sloppy first quarter, committing eight turnovers that led to 11 Sacramento points while being outscored 36-21. The Kings were able to attempt five more field goals and got to the line four times. They had few answers for Sabonis, who ended the quarter in appropriate fashion, drawing Trayce Jackson-Davis out of the paint with a pump fake before driving and dunking over him emphatically.
“I don’t know how many turnovers we had in that quarter, but it felt like a lot,” Kerr said. “Our transition defense was bad and they were hot right from the beginning.”