Golden State has to be better late
Durant, Curry hit key 3s to overcome Toronto
The chant emanated from the Oracle Arena crowd Wednesday night with 1:56 left in the game: “LET’S GO, WARRIORS! LET’S GO, WARRIORS!”
As referees reviewed a foul call, desperate fans were looking for any way to inspire the home team. Perhaps that lategame serenade was all Golden State needed: Only moments later, three-pointers by Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry helped lift the Warriors to a 117-112 win over Toronto.
It was more of a relief than a thrill for a team that has underwhelmed early. Because before Golden State escaped with its second straight victory to move to 3-2, it squandered a 14-point, second-half lead. The Warriors committed 17 turnovers and were outrebounded 17-6 on the offensive glass.
Luckily for them, they are
more equipped than perhaps any other NBA team to steal a win. Durant’s three-pointer with 1:02 left knotted the game 112-112. With 31.9 seconds remaining, Curry put the Warriors ahead to stay with his three-pointer.
Curry, feeling himself, stuck out his tongue and shimmied his shoulders. His 30 points paced Golden State on a night Durant (29 points), Klay Thompson (22 points, eight rebounds) and Draymond Green (15 points, 11 rebounds, six assists) were worthy complements. The Warriors shot 12-for-26 from three-point range.
“We’ve got to put a full game together,” Green said. “I think we’re close. We’re getting there.”
After going 2-1 on its first road trip of the season, Golden State returned to the Bay Area this week eyeing the type of dominance many expect from it.
The Warriors fumbled away a 17-point lead in their seasonopening loss to Houston. After eking out a win at New Orleans, they totaled 28 fouls and 17 turnovers in a loss at Memphis. Golden State routed Dallas on Monday only after allowing 38 second-quarter points.
The Warriors had plenty to improve, but they also seemingly had a silver lining: a threegame homestand to begin one of the friendlier 11-game stretches on the schedule. It only seemed to help that Toronto centers Jonas Valanciunas and Lucas Nogueira were sidelined by sprained left ankles.
To deal with the Raptors’ small-ball lineups, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr made 7-footer JaVale McGee inactive in favor of Kevon Looney. Golden State overcame nine firsthalf turnovers with torrid shooting. After Durant hit a 15-foot jumper early in the third quarter, the Warriors were up 71-57.
Golden State’s most formidable opponent has been its inattention. Facing big leads, it tends to get sloppy.
Such was the case again Wednesday. Within the first seven minutes of the second half, the Warriors piled up six giveaways. Toronto forward Pascal Siakam, who entered the night averaging two points per game, had 20 by the midpoint of the third quarter. Taking advantage of offensive rebounds, the Raptors went up 104-103 midway through the fourth — their first lead since the second quarter.
“It took us a while to figure out that we needed to box out,” said Kerr, whose team gave up 11 offensive rebounds to Toronto center Jakob Poeltl. “Literally, a shot would go up and our guys would (stare at the ball). That’s effort.”
Added Durant: “A 4-year-old in the stands probably could have seen that we should have been boxing out.”
Though the sample size is small, Golden State looks shockingly flawed a little more than a week into the season.
The biggest championship favorite in NBA history is making the same mistakes again and again. After leading the league in defensive efficiency last season, the Warriors are giving up far too many open looks during pivotal stretches. A training camp spent focusing on more accurate passing has given way to numerous ugly turnovers.
The question now is whether it is all a minor early-season hiccup or an indicator of something more serious.
“It’s late October,” Thompson said, “so we’re not going to panic.”