SACRAMENTO – Prior to Wednesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings, Warriors coach Steve Kerr talked about the importance of playing with a better pace.
While Golden State initially responded well, the good times didn’t last for very long.
After building a 17-point halftime lead, the Warriors unraveled after in the final two quarters and watched the surging Kings race to a 123-117 victory at Golden 1 Center.
Coming on the heels of the Warriors’ lopsided 40-point blowout loss to the Boston Celtics, it hardly was the type of game that Kerr was looking for before Golden State returns to Chase Center on Thursday to begin a six-game homestand.
Playing short-handed again while a large chunk of the roster recovers from injuries, the Warriors shot nearly 47 percent overall, made 22 of 48 3-point attempts and built what seemed to be a comfortable lead at the break.
Then it all fell apart.
Golden State committed eight turnovers in the third quarter, opening the door for Sacramento to outscore the Warriors 37-20 and wipe out the halftime deficit entirely.
Kerr blamed the turnaround on his team’s inabilities to handle the Kings’ trapping defense after doing a strong job against it in the first two quarters.
“They were trapping in the first half, and we handled the traps beautifully. Got wide-open looks, knocked down shots,” Kerr said after the game. “In the second half, we lost our poise. They picked up their pressure, but other than maybe two or three plays where they trapped Steph and got a defection, I thought almost every turnover was unforced.
“But sometimes when you get sped up, you make poor decisions, and I thought that happened tonight.”
Kerr noted how well the Kings took advantage of the Warriors’ miscues, pointing out Sacramento’s 28-0 advantage in fastbreak scoring.
“Pace with poor decision-making is not pace, that’s just recklessness,” Kerr said. “We didn’t really play with pace. We were just reckless and careless with the ball.”
That’s been somewhat of an ongoing issue with this year’s version of the Warriors.
Historically one of the NBA’s most disciplined teams anchored by the greatest shooter in league history, the Warriors at times have struggled to maintain their poise when their shots aren’t falling.
That’s something Kerr said has to change.
“We’ve got to be able to maintain that level of poise and execution, especially on the road against a really good team,” Kerr said. “You have to understand there has to be purpose to every game. [We had] too many just careless passes and careless possessions, where it’s like ‘No, that doesn’t win in the NBA on the road.’ Got to understand what wins and we got to execute.”
