If you’re going to do something, there’s no need to half-ass it. And say what you will about the Golden State Warriors, but they almost always full-ass things.
And so it was that, after opening their road-and-home back-to-back with an extremely disappointing loss on Monday night, the Dubs finished the job on Tuesday, closing it out with an even more disappointing loss.
The loss in question — a 130-124 overtime defeat at the hands of the Chicago Bulls — was both more justifiable and more frustrating.
More justifiable because the Bulls, unlike the injured and tanking Utah Jazz, are at least a functional basketball team. More frustrating because, unlike on Monday in Salt Lake City, on Tuesday at the Chase Center the Dubs found themselves in prime position to win.
And then they lost instead.
It started out as a strong defensive game, with Chicago’s offense looking disjointed. Slowly, though, the Bulls started to figure things out, and neither team could find any separation. The Warriors were moving the ball beautifully, but settling almost exclusively for threes — they really had no ability to get to the rim. The offense improved when Kristaps Porziņģis came off the bench to play his third game with the Warriors, as he poured in the points. But the second unit struggled mightily on defense while Draymond Green, Al Horford, and Will Richard watched from the bench. Still, Golden State held a lead late in the frame. Horford returned for a second stint, drained a buzzer-beating three, and gave the Dubs a 30-26 lead after one.
That seemed to spark the energy. Golden State came out for the third quarter full of hustle and effort, with Nate Williams leading the charge. Finally, they were starting to penetrate Chicago’s defense, and they took complete control of the game. Halfway through the second quarter, it had turned into a double-digit advantage, and it looked like the Warriors might cruise.
But then they fell apart. They were infected with a severe case of turnoveritis, which the Bulls turned into transition opportunities and easy buckets. In the blink of an eye, Chicago rattled off a 14-0 run to retake the lead, and settled into a 57-51 advantage going into the break.
When the third quarter began, it looked like the Bulls would run away with it. They couldn’t miss to open the quarter, and quickly built up a double-digit advantage. Spanning the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the third, Chicago’s run had turned into a dominant 25-4 stretch, with only a pair of Gui Santos layups breaking up the beatdown.
Again the Warriors found stabilization in attacking the paint. They attacked and attacked, and good things happened. Golden State got good looks at the rim, earned trips to the free throw line, and grabbed offensive rebounds, while avoiding setting up Chicago for easy looks going the other way. Eventually, they were able to erase the deficit entirely, and even take the lead.
As tends to happen in those situations, that sparked something in the Dubs, as their energy level skyrocketed. But it didn’t last, as the Bulls’ counterattack stopped the Warriors in their tracks. Chicago immediately retook the lead, and led 89-83 entering the final quarter.
The Bulls continued the onslaught into the fourth quarter, and once again pushed the lead back to double digits. Golden State was getting outworked, and they were getting consistently beat up and down the court.
And then came a truly remarkable run. It was sparked by Richard’s perimeter defense, which was borderline impermeable. He was wreaking havoc, picking pockets, and creating transition opportunities for his teammates. That started to turn the tides, which led to equally strong defensive efforts from Horford and Gary Payton II, while Pat Spencer jump-started the offense with creative passes, big shots, and swagger galore.
Finally, with about 1:30 remaining, Spencer drained a very deep three to put the exclamation mark on a 24-4 Warriors run. The double-digit deficit had been deleted, and replaced with an eight-point advantage as time dwindled.
Sadly, that was the final highlight of the game. Matas Buzelis immediately answered with a three of his own, pulling the Bulls back to within five. On the other end, Santos missed a layup, while Horford followed it up with two missed tip-ins, then fouled Buzelis shooting a three. The second-year forward made two of three, turning it into a one-possession game.
The Dubs were still in good position, up three with the ball, and a chance for a two-for-one. But they blew the front end of the two-for-one when Richard committed a turnover, which Leonard Miller turned into a layup. Suddenly it was just a one-point game.
But the shot clock was off, and the Warriors had the ball. They were able to run lots of time off the clock before getting the ball in the hands of LJ Cryer, who was fouled with 10 seconds remaining. The rookie, playing in just his seventh career game, calmly made both.
Golden State fouled Jalen Smith on the other end, ceding a pair of free throws rather than allowing Chicago to shoot a three. It was certainly the right decision, though it backfired. Smith made both, and the Warriors quickly inbounded to Cryer. This time he only split the free throws, giving the Warriors just a two-point lead with eight seconds remaining.
It was still a good position to be in, until Green made a massive blunder. Chicago had to go the length of the court, and couldn’t find a good look. Finally, they dished it to Smith in the corner, who was falling out of bounds with the clock about to expire, and forced to hoist a prayer.
But Green had his hand on Smith as he caught the ball, and was whistled for a foul. It was a ticky-tack foul, but a foul nonetheless, and Smith went to the line with just 1.4 seconds remaining, needing to sink both free throws to extend the game.
He did. Brandin Podziemski missed a three-quarters court heave, and we headed to overtime.
Whither it was their legs giving out after a shorthanded back-to-back with travel involved, or their confidence giving out after seeing their win slip through their fingers, the Warriors appeared done when overtime began. They were out of energy, and looked defeated. The Bulls scored on the first two possessions of the extra period, and never looked back, winning 130-124.
Cryer, Spencer, Santos, and Porziņģis co-led the Warriors with 17 points on the night, with Cryer’s shooting especially impressive: he went 4-for-7 from the field, 3-for-5 on threes, and 6-for-7 on free throws. Green had a strong game save for the inexcusable foul, shooting 4-for-5 from the field (all threes) for 12 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Payton was a ball of energy, and finished with a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double.
But the Warriors were beat in the paint 64-44, and in transition 17-12. And with that, they fell to below .500 for the first time since mid-December.
They now get two days off to rest up, restore their legs, and figure out how to win with so much of their team sidelined. They’re back in action Friday night, when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves at 7:00 p.m. PT.
