The good tidings from Christmas have come and gone for the Golden State Warriors as they suffered another loss in the clutch in their 141-127 overtime loss to the Toronto Raptors.
Despite getting a 39-point performance from Stephen Curry, his eighth +35-point game this season, and despite holding a 12-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, the Warriors sank into their old habits, turning the ball over 20 times.
8 of those turnovers came in the fourth quarter and overtime, including a bad pass from Draymond Green with the Warriors up three with a minute left in regulation, which led to a game-tying three from Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley. And in overtime, the Dubs ran out of gas as the younger, faster Toronto team led by Scottie Barnes and his 23 points, 25 rebounds, and 10 assists, outpaced Golden State.
After the game, head coach Steve Kerr took the blame for the Warriors' eleventh loss in the clutch this season, which drops them to 16-16 on the season.
“I've gotta get us better organized during those stretches, that's on me,” Kerr said (via Sam Gordon of the San Francisco Chronicle). “They turned up the pressure, we didn't handle it well, and they scored 35 points off our turnovers.”
The loss in Toronto snapped a 3-game winning streak, a stretch in which it looked like the Warriors were on the verge of turning things around. Instead, they blew a comfortable lead while expending precious minutes on veterans with little to show for. Curry played 41 minutes, Jimmy Butler 37, and Draymond Green 33.
“It sucks,” Kerr continued. “We were on a little bit of a run. Have a chance for some momentum. Controlled the whole game, and then we let it slip.”
No rest for the weary
In conjunction with the turnover issues, the Raptors destroyed the Warriors on the boards. Toronto outrebounded the Dubs 21-11 in the fourth quarter and overtime, turning those second opportunities into back-breaking buckets for the Warriors.
“They got to all the loose balls, the offensive rebounds, extra possessions,” Curry said after the game (via Gordon). “We win as a team, we lose as a team. The idea of securing possessions and just getting a shot at the rim, we’ve all got to figure out how to do that. Twenty turnovers isn’t going to cut it.”
The Warriors don't have the luxury of stewing on this loss with the Brooklyn Nets on the horizon in less than 24 hours. But there is the question about whether or not they rest the veterans against one of the worst teams in the league.
The Warriors will certainly rest Al Horford as per his no playing both ends of a back-to-back policy. As for the other Warriors, they'll probably have De'Anthony Melton available as they chose to rest him on the front-end of this back-to-back.
For Curry, Butler, and Green, their statuses for tomorrow remain somewhat up in the air. When asked specifically about Curry, Kerr said he expects him to be available for Brooklyn but did not commit to his status.
“I expect him to, but it's a tough one,” Kerr said. “Jimmy too, 37 [minutes], Dray 33 [minutes], with the back-to-back. Burtal loss, but we have to bounce back.”
