Even without Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner, the Pacers showed up to the Chase Center — where the Warriors have been so dominant this year — unafraid.
Taking on the fearless identity of their young rookies, the Pacers brought it to the Warriors for a 112-104 victory. Even when Golden State (13-11) took a fourth quarter lead, the Pacers countered with a 12-2 run down the stretch.
Rookie Andrew Nembhard (31 points, 13 assists, 8 rebounds), outplayed Stephen Curry with the game of his life. Curry dropped a season-low 12 points on 3-for-17 shooting, wasting a gem from Klay Thompson.
Indiana’s impressive performance snapped a 10-game home winning streak for the Warriors. It’s only their second loss in the Chase Center this year.
Here are three takeaways from Golden State’s loss.
There’s something about the Pacers for Klay
Six years ago, to the day, on a Monday, Klay Thompson dropped a ridiculous 60 points in 29 minutes against the Pacers.
That the two teams matched up again on the anniversary of one of Thompson’s most magnificent shooting displays was an act of NBA astrology.
Thompson didn’t put together another all-time game. But his eyes sure lit up.
The guard started 5-for-7 from deep, hitting three 3s in the span of 61 second-quarter seconds. His flurry keyed a 20-2 run that salvaged a lethargic GSW start.
He hit catch-and-shoots, reloads, dribble relocations and every Klay-branded 3. Thompson passed both Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd on the all-time 3-point list.
But on one of his biggest plays of the night, Thompson passed up a 3, opting to drive to the paint and kick out to Donte DiVincenzo for an open look. The reserve canned it, giving the Warriors a one-point lead about halfway through the fourth.
Thompson finished with 28 points, hitting eight of his 16 3s.
A rare Steph Curry dud
Curry has been superhuman this year, so his performance — against this particular Pacers team — was shocking.
Curry started 1-for-8 and 0-for-5 from 3. He didn’t sink his first triple until 5:13 in the third quarter. He missed a couple decent looks inside, where he’s dominated as well as ever this season.
Credit Indiana. They mixed defensive strategies against Curry, either showing two defenders to him off ball screens, switching everything or a combination of the two. When a big would switch onto him on the perimeter, the weak side defender overloaded to help and force other Warriors to make plays. Defenders took away Curry’s air space and stayed glued to him off the ball — one of the toughest tasks in basketball.
At one point, Curry was 2-for-11. He put up an airball in the first and another in the fourth.
In the fourth, Curry struggled to create separation against Pacers bigs. He carried against center Isaiah Jackson with under four minutes left.
The best point guard in the game wasn’t Stephen Curry, but the Gonzaga product Andrew Nembhard. The 31st pick in the draft hit a stepback 3 over Curry late in the game and then added a leaner in the lane to put Indiana up seven. From beginning to end, Nembhard handed it to GSW.
Wiggins’ absence felt
Andrew Wiggins missed Monday’s game with right abductor tightness, an ailment Steve Kerr told reporters isn’t a long-term concern.
Wiggins, who rarely misses time, sat out a game after one of the best nights of his career. He dropped a season-high 36 points and matched a career-high with eight 3s in Saturday night’s victory.
Without Wiggins, the Warriors looked smaller and slower. Indiana’s bouncy wings slashed into the lane at will, taking advantage of matchups against starters Stephen Curry, Jordan Poole or Klay Thompson.
At halftime, the Pacers racked up 34 points in the paint compared to Golden State’s 22. Jalen Smith got it going. Nembhard and Bennedict Mathurin got downhill with ease. Indiana pushed the pace and was often first to 50/50 balls.
Wiggins doesn’t necessarily always play with the energizer role, but he does add a layer of athleticism and resistance Golden State lacked.
Curiously, the Warriors’ only other uber-athletic wing, Jonathan Kuminga, didn’t sub in until 8:30 left in the half. When he did, the Warriors instantly went on a 12-0 run. A major part of that is correlation, not causation, but Kuminga did play hard, force turnovers, roll hard to the basket and make quick decisions.
Steve Kerr went back to Kuminga as the first second-half sub, indicating he was fit for the matchup after all.
But when Nembhard took over in the fourth, the Warriors had nobody to throw at him. Wiggins is their perimeter stopper. Without him, they resorted to zone and double teams — neither of which worked.
When Thompson sits out, it makes perfect sense to just plug Poole into his spot. But with Wiggins, it might make sense to match his body type in the starting lineup — with either Kuminga or Moses Moody — to maintain continuity and defense.