Warriors, Curry go ice cold, come up short against Mavericks

Steph Curry has gone cold. The Warriors followed in their star’s footsteps Wednesday night in Dallas, turning in their worst offensive performance of the season.

Golden State missed on 23 of its 28 attempts from 3 in a 99-82 loss to the Mavericks, its worst clip of the season. The Warriors held Dallas to 37% from the field but were done in by their own shooting struggles. Dallas put the game on ice with a 20-5 run to end the fourth quarter.

“I thought we kind of ran out of gas in the fourth quarter,” coach Steve Kerr said afterward.

The Warriors managed only 39 first-half points — three shy of a season-low — but were able to erase a 14-point deficit. A few minutes into the fourth quarter, they had nearly matched their total for the first half. Then the offense went silent again.

Golden State was able to climb out of one hole but not two.

After facilitating 39 assists in each of their past two games, the first NBA team to do so since 1994, Golden State managed only 20 on Wednesday. Of course, there were fewer shots that went in, too.

Curry missed 19 of his 24 attempts from the field and all but

one of his nine from beyond the 3-point line, extending a cold snap that ranks among the worst of his career. Curry had been limited to 37.9% shooting over his past 15 games entering Wednesday.

“Everyone is throwing everything at him,” Kerr said. “I think tonight he pressed a little bit.”

Even during the coldest stretch of his career, Curry's mere presence impacts the game. He drew the attention of his defenders, then screened them, for a wideopen 3-pointer from Andrew Wiggins that pulled the Warriors within two, 56-54, early in the third quarter.

Wiggins found Curry, who delivered two buckets in the next 48 seconds that helped the Warriors climb out of a 14-point deficit. Golden State mounted a 16-0 run that flipped the game coming out of the locker room and set the stage for a battle in the second half.

While Curry is working through his shot, the Warriors haven't been totally devoid of deadly 3-point threats: Wiggins, who was the only Golden State player with multiple 3s (2 of 5), entered Wednesday leading the NBA over his past 15 games with a 53.6% hit rate from distance.

Nothing was falling on Wednesday, though: the Warriors made their fewest 3-pointers of the season at their least efficient clip. The final tally was 5 for 28 (17.9%).

With Klay Thompson inching closer to his return to the court, Golden State will have one more long-range sharpshooter in its arsenal. Anticipating Thompson's arrival, Jordan Poole slid into a reserve role for the third straight game, but it was tough to match his performance that alleviated Curry's unusually cold night Monday.

Poole dropped 32 against Miami while connecting on 12 of his 17 attempts off the bench to help hold off a scrappy Heat squad. Against Dallas, the Warriors were left searching for alternate options to Wiggins (17 points; 7-of-13) and Curry (14 points; 5-of-24).

Gary Payton II, who started in place of Poole, recorded a double-double — the third of his career — with 11 points and a season-high 11 rebounds. It took Payton five tries to make five baskets, whereas Curry's fifth shot didn't fall until his 22nd attempt.