As the fourth-best long range shooting team looked painfully uncalibrated, the Mavericks scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to pull away. Dallas ended the game on a 23-5 run and won the fourth quarter by 14.
Golden State, which hits 37% of its 3-pointers, sank a season-low five 3s on Wednesday. The Warriors went 5-for-28 (17.9%) including another quiet night from Stephen Curry (14 points). They scored a season-low 82 points in what at times reminded of a game from 20 years ago.
Here are three takeaways from the ice-cold, 99-82 loss.
Curry’s woes continue
Stephen Curry followed up his nine-point, 3-for-17 performance with a 5-for-24 stinker. He’s hit two of his last 19 3-pointers. That’s how he has started 2022.
One of the most constantly confident players ever occasionally looked hesitant, caught between passing or shooting or floaters vs strong finishes. At one point, director of sports medicine Rick Celebrini examined Curry’s left knee, which the guard later iced on the bench.
Curry missed multiple bunnies, including an awkward attempt that resembled a tentative push-shot. At a few points, he was visibly frustrated he didn’t get foul calls after driving to the basket.
In the fourth quarter, Curry tried to find his shot by attacking mismatches — especially forward Maxi Kleiber — off the dribble. But he only found minimal success. With 3 minutes left, he had a clear path to the basket for a layup but decided to kick out a pass instead. It sailed out of bounds.
Curry is in the middle of one of the worst shooting stretches of his career. He entered Dallas shooting 37.9% from the floor in his previous 15 games. He’s getting good looks, too; 48% of his shots have been open or wide open 3-pointers, according to NBA.com. But he’s hitting just 34.2% of those open looks and 42.7% of wide open shots — extremely low for the greatest shooter ever.
Curry has slumped before, and there should be no cause for concern. And as peculiar of a stretch as it is for Curry, the Warriors have still won games. Plus, he’ll have even more clean looks to rediscover his rhythm when Thompson rejoins the team.
The temporary starting lineup…are we sure it’s good?
Gary Payton II made his sixth straight start, and third consecutive in which Jordan Poole came off the bench. Poole is transitioning into a reserve role in preparation for Klay Thompson’s return, so Payton II has served as the stopgap starting two-guard.
Payton II has gone from waived by the Warriors in mid-October, to signed by GSW three days later, now to indispensable in 2022. He’s a power forward in a point guard’s body, and his defense and energy, as well as his cutting ability, has allowed Golden State to plug him into any lineup.
But is he the right choice to start games, even temporarily?
Payton II is second on the Warriors both in box plus-minus (5.6) and +/- per 100 possessions (14.4). He’s tied with Draymond Green for the best defensive rating and leads in offensive rating — the latter more of a product of who he’s on the floor with but significant nonetheless for a player who many discounted offensively.
When Payton II’s been on the court, the Warriors have been substantially better. But entering Wednesday, the starting lineup with Payton II in Poole’s place has been outscored by 7.5 points per 100 possessions, albeit in a 17-minute sample size. The same starters with Poole instead of Payton II are winning by 7.3 points per 100 possessions.
In Dallas, he got scored on inside by Luka Doncic on a cross match, then coughed up a quick turnover. He also made an excellent touch pass inside off a pick-and-roll, leading to a Kevon Looney bucket.
When Poole replaced Payton II, the Warriors trailed 12-8. They had more turnovers (4) than made field goals (3). The slow start certainly wasn’t Payton II’s fault, but having three non-shooters in him, Green and Looney makes things harder for GSW in the halfcourt.
As much as Payton II has contributed this year, he deserves the chance to start. And when the “starting” lineup returned to begin the second half, they looked much more connected on both ends, going on a 15-6 burst. Payton II (11 points, 11 rebounds) also provided a spark in the fourth.
But as soon as Thompson returns, the pieces will start to puzzle again.
Time Machine
At times, Wednesday night’s game looked more like it was played in 2002, not 2022.
The Warriors missed their first seven 3-pointers, then missed seven straight after finally hitting one. Golden State and Dallas combined to shoot 14.7% from beyond the arc in the first half. Players missed layups, relied on pump fakes inside to create space, and focused on drawing fouls in the paint to generate offense.
There were big blocks inside from players on both ends, physical defense, competition for offensive rebounds and slow half court possessions. It wasn’t just a poor start from Stephen Curry; nobody besides Doncic could score consistently. At one point, Dallas point guard Jalen Brunson took Poole onto the block and scored over his right shoulder with a nifty post move a la Mark Jackson.
The score heading into halftime: 50-39, Dallas. Then the Mavericks went scoreless for nearly five minutes in the third quarter. The game’s strange, antiquated rhythm continued. All the way through the fourth quarter, when Golden State scored 15 points and Curry kept clanking.