Depleted Golden State Warriors Lose Battle With Pacers 104-98
The Golden State Warriors, the best team in the league, was without its best player, leader, and MVP — and it became evident down the stretch against a hungry team at home.
Stephen Curry missed Sunday’s game with a sore foot, and the Warriors tried but failed to overcome Indiana with the game ending in a 98-104 loss to the Pacers. The loss dropped Golden State to an NBA best 43-10.
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Klay Thompson highlighted the Warriors offensive efforts with 39 points, but failed to get much help from the rest of the team. For the game, Thompson and Andre Iguodala were the only players to reach double digit points.
In the early going, it seemed that the Warriors would be able to overcome Curry’s absence. With some sharp and explosive play, the team was able to put up an impressive 38 points.
The rest of the game however, was a much different story. The second quarter saw the Pacers outscore the Warriors 34-19, giving Indiana a one point lead heading into the locker room at halftime.
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Coming out of the break, the Warriors were still badly out of rhythm, and Indiana outscored them 23-21 in the third quarter. The Warriors got close down the stretch, but without Curry, it was like they were simply missing the engine that runs the offensive machine.
The Warriors were never able to put together a streak to really get themselves in a position to take the lead, and put the Pacers away. They were just out of sync, and after that first quarter outburst, had a very difficult time scoring points.
A performance like that, against a team at home still fighting for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, just isn’t going to cut it. Luckily for the Warriors, they aren’t currently fighting for a playoff spot and Curry won’t be out for long. But they can ill afford to put together performances like the one against the Pacers.
The loss snapped the Warriors four game win streak, but they will look to get back on track Tuesday against the Washington Wizards.