Mistakes sink Warriors in a loss to Wizards
Leading by 3, Warriors had chance to earn 1st consecutive win in nearly a month
With both hands over his head, Damion Lee frowned, his eyes drawn to a clock that read 1.2 seconds remaining.
As Lee stood there under the rim moments after his pass that was picked off, he felt his mistake cost the Golden State Warriors their first consecutive win in nearly a month. However, poor defense in the first half and more mistakes than one in the final seconds sunk the Warriors in Friday night’s 110-107 loss to the Washington Wizards at Chase Center.
This is about as tough a loss as they come in the midst of a playoff push.
“We’re all going to lose sleep tonight,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “I’ll lose sleep, I’m sure Damion will lose sleep, all the guys will. Really tough loss.”
After climbing back from a 12-point hole in the second quarter, the Warriors used a 12-2 run in the fourth and led by three with 10 seconds remaining. But Golden State fouled Bradley Beal on a fading-away 3-pointer out of the corner with 6.1 seconds to go. Beal made the shot and ensuing free throw to give the Wizards a one-point lead.
On the following inbounds play, Draymond Green passed to Lee cutting to the basket. As Washington’s defense rushed to contest a layup, Lee attempted a limp pass to Andrew Wiggins in the corner that was intercepted by Russell Westbrook. Had Lee looked elsewhere, he would have found Kelly Oubre Jr. or Stephen Curry open beyond the arc.
“You try to make the right basketball play,” Lee said. “I turned it over. I mean, that’s on me. I have to be better in those situations. I can’t cost us the game.”
But that’s a tough play to make in the ticking seconds of a game. The Warriors had other opportunities: Maybe they could have fouled with 20 seconds to go, before the Wizards recovered an offensive rebound that led to Beal’s 3-point heave. Curry’s rushed 27-footer with 1.2 seconds to go never had a chance.
The fact is, the Warriors should not have been in this position. If told before the game that they’d hold Beal — the NBA’S leading scorer — to 20 points on 7-for-16 shooting, including 1-for-5 from 3-point range, the Warriors would have felt strongly about their chance to win.
But despite having Beal bottled up for most of the game, Golden State allowed Washington’s centers Alex
Len and Robin Lopez to tally 35 points on a combined 14-of-23 from the field and gave up 60 total points in the paint. Second-year forward Rui Hachimura finished with 22 points on 9-for-16 shooting, including 13 in the first quarter.
“We just played a very poor first half, defensively especially,” Kerr said. “And even though we controlled the second half and took the lead and had a chance to win, those 24 minutes in the first half I thought came back and bit us.”
While the defense con