DENVER — As numerous members of the Golden State Warriors started to filter out of the visiting locker room at Ball Enviornment on Sunday evening, Klay Thompson sat silently on a folding chair together with his head bowed. He fiddled with a wristband. He was nonetheless carrying his sport shorts.
Thompson has coped with adversity, shedding two seasons to damage. However the N.B.A. has a method of humbling even probably the most decided gamers. And within the glum aftermath of the Warriors’ 79th sport of the season, Thompson was left to dwell on errant photographs and missed alternatives. He was not alone.
The Warriors are a tricky group to determine, and their 112-110 loss to the Nuggets on Sunday was one other jumbled effort in a season stuffed with them. They had been thrilling and linked, then sloppy and disjointed. They led by as many as 15 factors within the second quarter, then allowed all that good feeling to evaporate.
“We stopped enjoying,” Coach Steve Kerr stated. “We simply misplaced our give attention to each ends, gave up a ton of offensive rebounds, missed field outs. Offensively, we had a number of senseless possessions in a row, throwing the ball away, a bunch of shot turnovers — simply dangerous photographs.”
Groups have wildly completely different agendas at this late stage of the season. The Nuggets, who’re on the cusp of clinching the highest seed within the Western Convention, have the luxurious of prioritizing well being. Nikola Jokic, the league’s back-to-back most beneficial participant, missed his third straight sport with calf tightness.
“There actually is an damage there, and it’s simply us being good about it,” Michael Malone, Denver’s coach, stated earlier than Sunday’s sport. “The kind of damage he has, the worst-case situation is he performs and it creates a a lot greater difficulty the place he’s out for an prolonged time frame. And I feel all of us understand that we’re solely going to go up to now when Nikola is such a giant a part of what we do.”
The Warriors, alternatively, are determined to keep away from the play-in bracket because the defending champions. With the highest six seeds in every convention assured playoff berths, the Warriors (41-38) are actually tied for fifth with the Clippers within the West after Sunday’s loss. Kerr likes the addition of the play-in — “It retains issues actually attention-grabbing all the best way down the stretch,” he stated — however that doesn’t imply he desires to be part of it.
The Warriors have three video games remaining. After enjoying host to the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder on Tuesday, they may go on the highway to face the Sacramento Kings on Friday and the Portland Path Blazers on Sunday.
“We have to win out,” Golden State’s Stephen Curry stated, including: “It’s simply understanding there’s a way of urgency with these final three video games, and never solely the wins however the vibe you create going right into a playoff sequence, as a result of that does matter — ending robust, ending with a way of function. You need to be ok with your self whenever you flip the clock to the playoffs.”
The actual problem is that the Warriors play two of their last three video games on the highway, the place they’ve been terrible this season. The disparity between their report at dwelling (32-8) and their report on the highway (9-30) is a thriller with out an apparent rationalization.
“We’ve received to think about ourselves that we are able to determine it out,” Curry stated.
No options surfaced in opposition to the Nuggets, although it did look good for the Warriors, at the very least for some time. They assembled one in every of their acquainted grasp courses in ball motion within the first quarter.
There was Draymond Inexperienced tipping a cross to Donte DiVincenzo for an-up-and-under layup. There was Thompson drawing a cluster of defenders on a drive earlier than dumping a cross to Anthony Lamb for an open dunk. The ball zipped from teammate to teammate. Inexperienced had 5 assists within the first quarter, and the Warriors assisted on 11 of their 13 discipline targets, committing just one turnover.
However sustaining that form of effort has been problematic for the Warriors this season, significantly on the highway. They missed all eight of their 3-point photographs within the second quarter and dedicated 5 turnovers.
“It’s form of been a vibe of the way it’s been on the highway for us all yr,” Curry stated. “There’s a four- or five-minute stretch and the wheels simply fall off. And also you not solely give a group momentum, however you give them perception that they’re purported to win that sport. And that’s a harmful place to be in with the quantity of expertise that’s on this league, regardless of who you’re enjoying.”
Curry and Thompson mixed to shoot 17 of 56 from the sector, and Golden State dedicated 15 turnovers. Add it up, and it was the sport that the Warriors had “no enterprise” successful, Curry stated.
The basketball gods concurred. After Thompson’s 3-point shot with 4.5 seconds left caromed off the again rim, he rebounded his personal miss. However his desperation heave on the buzzer was swatted away by Jamal Murray, who had a terrific all-around sport for the Nuggets with 26 factors and eight assists.
“The season has been like this all yr,” Kerr stated. “It’s been stops and begins. Simply whenever you assume we’ve received some momentum, we give it again.”
Because the visiting locker room continued to empty out, Thompson lastly rose from his chair and packed for the journey dwelling. The group bus was idling outdoors.
“We simply need to preserve pushing,” Kerr stated.