It’s a struggle, but Curry and Warriors get past Kings
25-turnover game comes 3 days after 30-point loss
SACRAMENTO — A loaded roster doesn’t make the Warriors immune from the early February slog that all NBA teams navigate.
With the All-Star break two weeks away, they’re drained, both mentally and physically. That much was evident Friday night, when Golden State overcame 25 turnovers for a 119-104 win over the Kings at Golden 1 Center.
The Warriors finished just one giveaway shy of their season high. Point guard Stephen Curry committed six turnovers, and forwards Draymond Green and Kevin Durant each had five. By not protecting the ball, Golden State struggled to put away a Sacramento team deep into a youth movement.
The Kings attempted 15 more shots than the Warriors. Despite shooting 55 percent from the field, including 17-for-33 from three-point range, and winning the rebounding battle 51-33, Golden State didn’t seal Sacramento’s fate until Klay Thompson drained a threepointer with 1:26 remaining to give the Warriors a 117-102 lead.
“It’s painfully obvious that our guys are mentally fried right now,” Golden State head coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s our job just to get a win and move on.”
The Warriors are laboring through the doldrums of the season. Mental fatigue, an issue for many teams this time of year, has resurfaced for a Golden State club that has had trouble with complacency.
Facing franchises bound for
the lottery doesn’t help the Warriors focus. In losing Tuesday at Utah by 30 points, easily its biggest margin of defeat this season, Golden State allowed an offensively challenged Jazz club to shoot 58.2 percent from the field, including 14-for-28 from three-point range.
Against the Kings, the Warriors again opened out of sync.
After his team dug a quick 10-3 hole, Kerr was visibly frustrated and called for time. Midway through the first quarter, Curry missed wide-open threepointers on back-to-back possessions. Little more than a minute later, Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein threw down a dunk to give Sacramento a 20-7 lead.
During the ensuing timeout, ESPN cameras caught Kerr telling his players, “Let’s push the reset button. Let’s start over. This is what we’re going to face every night. Everybody’s going to bring their best shot.” Almost on cue, Golden State closed the quarter on a 22-7 run to seize a 29-27 lead.
The problem was that, whenever they appeared on the verge of pulling away for good, the Warriors committed turnovers. There were times when they were stripped of the ball, times when they passed directly to the opponent and times when they seemingly passed to no one.
Golden State took a 78-64 lead midway through the third, only to squander meaningful possessions and quickly let Sacramento back within striking distance. Midway through the fourth quarter, after intercepting a bad pass from Durant, Kings guard Buddy Hield broke free for a layup to trim Sacramento’s deficit to 89-88.
“You have to be professional and try to figure out ways to grind,” Curry said. “That may be the case (that we’re nearing the break), but that’s no excuse for turnovers and disjointedness throughout the game.”
The Warriors, who play Saturday night in Denver, have six games before the All-Star break. Even for Golden State’s four All-Stars, that midseason hiatus represents a much-needed chance to get away from the NBA grind. And at this point, it seemingly can’t come soon enough.
“The guys are dying to get to the All-Star Break, and we’re limping to the finish line,” Kerr said. “But we’ve got to fight through to the break, then we need to get the hell away from each other, go sit on a beach, relax and we’ll be in great shape.”