SAN FRANCISCO — This game is set up as a trampoline game for the Warriors. They have won five of their last six matches and have two days of rest before the game, plus a rare training session. The Heat traveled across the country after the Christmas game, while Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, Josh Richardson and Caleb Martin were all absent. Their rotation includes two players on two-way contracts, a rookie, and a sophomore who has yet to establish a reputation.
As such, it's seen as a must-win game to bring the Warriors back to over 50% win percentage and push them toward this all-important seven-game home game. However, the result turned into their worst game of the season, losing 114-102 to the point where Stephen Curry sat on the bench for the final six minutes of the game.
It seems like we've been playing every game all season," says Steve Kerr. 'Every game was close and we were all competitive and resilient. But tonight, we lost that competitiveness. It felt like we were a little frustrated when we didn't make ...... shotWe lost tactically, at work and at game. ”
Curry made just three of 15 shots. He's hit a small slump, shooting 41 from the field overall in his last nine games7. The three-point shooting percentage is 354％。Against the Heat, the Warriors netted 14 points when Curry came on, another game after Curry netted 26 points when he came on the floor against the Nuggets on Christmas.
But the key negative period on Thursday night came when Curry was on the bench at the start of the second quarter. Kerr tried a lineup of Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga to play alongside Klay Thompson, Chris Paul and Dario Saric – and the results were not as good as they could have been. Before Curry returned to the court, the five-point lead turned into a six-point deficit. Kuminga was arguably his worst game of the season, committing six turnovers in the first half. The Heat, on the other hand, had only one turnover in the first half.
This time) changed the game, changed the momentum," Cole said. "And we never got it back. ”
The Warriors hit just eight of their 33 shots from the three-point line. It was the first time this season that they hit fewer than 10 three-pointers, breaking the NBA's record for the longest attempt. Curry made 2-of-8 three-pointers, the bench made 2-of-11, Kuminga made 0-of-3 three-pointers and Thompson made 6-of-2 three-pointers.
When they went with a zone defense, our offense became too stagnant," Thompson said. "[We could] try to pass the ball more than we broke through and then passed. Including myself, we were content to just stand outside the three-point line instead of playing with more power, getting into the box, giving teammates an open shot, and finding open shots. ”
The lack of energy and urgency is palpable, especially when compared to the understaffed Heat, who are full of unknowns on the court. Jamal Cain, who had played just 27 career NBA games before Thursday night, was the best player for most of the game.
Brandin Podziemski said: "I think a lot of the responsibility falls on me. I'm the guy who's supposed to bring energy, struggle, and effort, but I didn't do it tonight. I can usually assess that by the number of steals, pick-and-rolls and rebounds I get, and tonight was probably my worst game of the year.
I think it started with me. The coach will say it's his fault, he didn't prepare us or something, but I'm in the starting line-up for a reason. I just don't think I brought that kind of energy and effort tonight as I normally would. ”
Thompson learns that Podimsky blames himself for the loss.
Oh my God," Thompson said. "Exaggerated, rookie. (Overall energy) wasn't going well tonight. I do not know. I don't have a good answer. It's hard to blame BP. ”
Cole's rotation selection will continue to be a constant topic. He tried to schedule some Kuminga and Wiggins combo time, but it didn't work out. He left Moses Moody out of the initial rotation but came on midway through the second quarter. Moody was one of the few Warriors players who had a good performance, blocking two shots from Tyler Herro in his first appearance and getting more playing time in the second half. But nothing works in a substantive or sustainable way.
"It's not about the combination tonight," Kerr said. "It's that we've been defeated, defeated, and blown up. No matter who we put on the pitch, they controlled the whole game. ”