Warriors' season ends in blowout loss to the Kings
Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson didn't get a chance to spend what might be their final moments in the same uniform on the court.
In a blowout play-in loss to the Kings on Tuesday, the dynastic trio checked out together with 2:13 left in a game that was already decided. The three legends are used to playing deep into the spring. Instead, their season ended on April 16.
The Warriors were healthier and well rested. Their four future Hall of Famers had exponentially more playoff experience than the Kings. They finished the season strong as Sacramento stumbled.
But Thompson picked a bad time to play the worst game of his career. Andrew Wiggins, who had turned around his season, registered a minus-25 in 25 minutes. Curry, who ended Sacramento's season with 50 points last spring, grinded against double and triple teams to reach 22 points.
And the Warriors' much-improved defense — led by Green — let Keegan Murray unload eight 3-pointers for a game-high 32 points.
“We just couldn't stay with them,” Steve Kerr said postgame. “They dominated us physically. I think they had about 18 more field goal attempts than us, between the turnovers and the offensive boards. It was total domination.”
Curry, Thompson and Green left the visitor's bench at the final horn, losers of the 9/10 playin game. Thompson lingered for an extra moment on the court before disappearing into the tunnel. Sacramento shot 46.2% from deep, lighting the beam in a 118-94 win to end Golden State's season. The Warriors are now 0-3 all-time in play-in games.
Golden State's season arrived at the Golden 1 Center after a particularly windy six months. The Warriors nearly went off the rails with Green away from the team for a quarter of the year on an indefinite suspension due to his erratic behavior. Tragedy struck when assistant coach Dejan Milojevic died in Salt Lake City.
The roster — one of Kerr's favorites to coach — rallied amid adversity. They resuscitated their season behind a new starting frontcourt of Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis, committing to defense as their identity. They won six straight and finished the season winners of 10 of 12.
Now their season's over. Much more could be, too.
Questions will swirl about the future of Golden State's aging dynastic core and what will come next. Until the end, the Warriors believed they could make a special playoff run. Then, abruptly, the unceremonious end came.
“This is life,” Kerr said. “This is how it works. You don't get to stay on top forever.”
Golden State ended the regular season as one of the league's hottest teams, with a 22-11 second-half record. The Warriors won two more games than they did a year prior, making important progress in some key areas. But it was only enough for 10th best in a loaded Western Conference that has caught up to them.
There were no moral victories for the Warriors in this play-in game. They got crushed in the non-Curry minutes. They were bullied on the boards early. They turned the ball over too much against Sacramento's ball pressure.
“They were more physical than us the whole game,” Green said.
Even the Warriors' patented plays weren't working. When Curry was trapped, he bounced to Green, who found Andrew Wiggins along the baseline for an alley-oop. But Wiggins couldn't handle Green's lob, leading to a Keon Ellis 3 on the other end. The five-point swing was an ominous sign.
Murray hit his sixth 3 late in the third to match Sacramento's biggest lead of 16.
Thompson missed all 10 of his shots, going scoreless in 32 minutes. Thompson had never attempted as many shots without hitting a single one in his 13-year career.
Despite Thompson and Curry combining for just five first-half points, the Warriors only trailed by four at the half because of a late surge from Jonathan Kuminga and stronger perimeter defense.
With the Warriors trailing by 15 entering the final frame, reality began to set in. An offseason abyss loomed. Thompson will hit free agency. The Warriors will need to shed eight figures worth of salary to avoid catastrophic luxury tax costs. Mike Dunleavy Jr. nailed his first draft, but there's still a difficult task of spending less while clawing back into contention.
“I could never see myself not with those two guys,” Curry said postgame of Thompson and Green. “I understand this league changes and there's so many things that go into it, and we're not going to play forever. But we've experienced so much together. At the end of the day, again, I know they want to win, I want to win — that's all I'm worried about.”