Without top guys, Poole gets little help

Warriors forward Draymond Green tied his left shoe tight, turned toward head coach Steve Kerr and shook his head.

With Golden State nursing a threepoint lead midway through the third quarter, Green wasn’t about to let a rolled left ankle take him out of the game. His stubborn insistence sent a message to the rest of the team. Without a handful of key rotation players on the back end of a backtoback, the Warriors tried to withstand sloppy stretches and a slew of misses, only to tire late and lose 111103 to the Grizzlies in Memphis on Saturday night.

Jordan Poole’s 3pointer put Golden State up one with 2:43 left, but then the Warriors struggled to knock down shots as Stephen Curry (bruised tailbone) watched from the bench. A bad pass from Andrew Wiggins resulted in a turnover that Grizzlies guard Grayson Allen turned into a dunk. Poole drained another 3pointer with 32 seconds remaining to cut the Warriors’ deficit to four, but Memphis iced the game at the foul line.

“We felt like we had it,” Poole said. “We have to find ways to execute down the stretch.”

The fact that James Wiseman, Eric Paschall and Kevon Looney — all in the NBA’s health and safety protocols — were unavailable along with Curry didn’t make the loss easier to stomach. Consistency has eluded the Warriors all season. Saturday offered Golden State a chance to sweep a backtoback on the road against a playoff contender and notch just its second threegame winning streak.

Instead, the Warriors slid to 2221 — one game ahead of Memphis for ninth place in the Western Conference. What made the defeat especially frustrating was that Golden State held Ja Morant, the face of the Grizzlies’ franchise, to 14

points on 5for20 shooting (1for5 from 3point range).

The problem was that the Warriors only shot 34.4% from the field (31.7% from 3point range) and committed 25 fouls. Poole, who has been one of the team’s most reliable options since returning from the G League two weeks ago, tried to will Golden State to victory, scoring his team’s final eight points to finish with 26.

However, he got little support when it mattered most. The rest of the Warriors only mustered 77 points on 21for69 shooting.

“We have to learn how to win,” Kerr said. “We’ve just lost too many close games.”

In the second quarter, players often stood around and watched as Poole tried to beat his man off the dribble. This was discouraging for Kerr, who wants his team to channel a movementheavy style even without Curry.

Thanks to the Grizzlies missing numerous open shots, the Warriors were still positioned to win late. The reasons they fumbled away that opportunity — stagnant offense, botched boxouts, silly turnovers — are the same ones that have kept them from stringing together a long winning streak.

More than halfway through the season, Golden State is visibly annoyed by having to repeat the same cliched lines game after game about “finishing strong” and “improving along the margins.” Even an overhauled roster should be make strides faster than the Warriors have the past few months.

It has not helped that injuries and coronavirusrelated absences have kept Kerr from settling on a rotation. With no true centers available Saturday, the Warriors started forward Alen Smailagic — a 20yearold project who labored at the recent G League bubble — at center against the Grizzlies’ Jonas Valanciunas.

In eight minutes, Smailagic shot 1for5 from the field and committed five fouls. The Warriors can only hope that Curry will rest enough the next two days to return Tuesday against the 76ers and offer some relief.

“We just have to put together a complete game,” forward Juan ToscanoAnderson said.

Brandon Dill / Associated Press Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas (left) is one of many NBA players unable to keep Warriors guard Jordan Poole from scoring. Poole has looked like a firstround draft pick since returning from the G League’s bubble.