Steph Curry knows what it's like to be targeted on defense by superstar ball handlers. The Golden State Warriors superstar has worked tirelessly to become a viable one-on-one defender in the back half of his career, no longer the wallflower he was even at the start of the defending champions' dynasty.

Trae Young, compared to Curry since his high school days, still hasn't managed that crucial defensive development as his fifth season with the Atlanta Hawks winds down. You wouldn't know it watching him rip the reigning Finals MVP's dribble for a game-sealing layup in crunch-time on Friday night, though, a pivotal play Curry broke down after the Dubs' 127-119 loss.

“Trae made a nice play on the last [steal]. I thought I sealed him off, was trying to get down the lane. The ball kind of came up and he timed it right, got it from me,” he said, per C.J. Holmes of the San Francisco Chronicle.

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Porous individual and transition defense, turnover woes and an inability to knock down the long ball doomed the short-handed Warriors most in Atlanta. Even navigating those choppy waters without Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins, though, Golden State was still in position late to break its nine-game road losing streak, getting multiple opportunities to take the lead in the clutch.

Instead, the Warriors season-long execution issues in crunch-time reared their ugly head. Steve Kerr's team scored just five points in the game's last five minutes, settling for perimeter jumpers and rote small-small ball screens despite owning the paint from the opening tip.

Curry doesn't deserve all blame for Golden State's late-game struggles, rough as it was watching Young get the best of him. But crunch-time offense has been a major problem for he and the Dubs throughout 2022-23, yet another one the team must address to make a deep run in the postseason.