San Francisco – The Warriors suffered the worst loss of the season. It comes on the heels of losing Chris Paul who helped guide the second unit. Tonight, Golden State looked lost the entire game and came out flat to start. The Toronto Raptors 133-118 win snapped a three-game winning streak over the Raptors.
“Got punched in the mouth right away,” said Steve Kerr. They just took it to us. Had (Scottie) Barnes on Steph (Curry) then we had the cross-match, and he just ran to the front of the rim over and over again. They just basically threw the ball in transition and got a bunch of easy buckets early. I think I took two timeouts in the first five or six minutes and tried to stem the tide. It was an ugly, really ugly first half. Second half our guys really competed but we were too far behind to really make the full run.”
“It was a tough start. We had a weird turnover to set the tone really,” Stephen Curry said. “Then every time they got a stop, they kind of ran it right back at us, took advantage of the size advantage. Then it becomes a game where you’re chasing right out the gate. Got punked from the jump. Not the way that you want to come out. It was a rough one.”
Kerr went with two different starting lineups to start the game and to start the third. The lack of chemistry on the court shows. The Warriors allowed 76 first half points, the most the team has allowed in any half this season. The lack of rebounds has become concerning, as well as the loses during this homestand.
“Well, I didn’t want to go back to the same lineup,” said Kerr on changing his lineup in the second half. “The only thing I was interested in in the second half was just competing. What that means, you can say compete but what does that mean? It means talking on defense. I didn’t hear anything; it was silent in the first half. We needed to have some talk, some chatter, some connection, so I went with that lineup because I felt they would give us that, and they did. Got us off to a good start. As I said, we made a pretty good run in the third but obviously wasn’t enough.”
Klay Thompson scored 25 points, Tracye Jackson-Davis posted his fourth-career double-double, the most by a Golden State rookie since Eric Paschall recorded four during the 2019-20 season. He led the team in rebounding for the second consecutive game and made a career-high tying eight field goals. Moses Moody scored a season-high-tying 21 points (12/2 at LAC), marking his second 20-point outing of the season.
“I think it was just one of those nights,” Thompson said. “I think we haven’t been blown out like that all year and just one of those nights where we tried to muster up the energy. Especially in that third, we made a nice run. Just got nothing to flow and an ugly loss.”
Green’s reinstatement allowed him to enter Chase Center and sit on the sideline along with his teammates. He gave advice to the young guys and encourage everyone to stay the course. Green’s presence was welcomed by all especially the players who were anxious to have him back.
“It was great to have him back,” said Curry. “We missed his presence, he talked a little bit at the timeouts, a little bit at halftime, trying to give us what he had. I know he’s going to put some work in this week and hopefully get back sooner than later. Chemistry piece, when he’s out there we know what he brings on both ends of the floor. There’s definitely a familiarity and a confidence that he brings when he’s out there. That isn’t necessarily guaranteed success, we have to continue to address the issues that we have as a team to find that consistency, but you hope that he’ll help for sure.”
“It was great,” Thompson said. “We missed him dearly and we’ll never be the same until he’s in the lineup. We are eager for his return on the court, and he is obviously the backbone of this team and the heart and soul. I’m looking forward to just playing and being out there with Draymond again. Yeah, he’ll be a difference maker.”
KERR ON DRAYMOND GREEN’S RETURN
The NBA reinstated Draymond Green yesterday after a 12-game suspension for his hit on Phenix Suns Center Jusuf Nurkic’. He was able to make his first appearance at Chase Center today since his suspension. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr spoke about his return during his pregame press conference.
“Everybody is excited to see him, it’s great to have him back,” Kerr said. “He’s one of our leaders and he’s happy to be back. So it’s a good vibe.”
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