Steph Curry's monumental night was wasted as the Warriors stuck close most of the night before falling apart in overtime and losing 141-134 to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday at State Farm Arena.
Curry put up a season-high 60 points (two shy of his career high) with 10 3-pointers on a night when the Warriors overall struggled beyond the arc. The two-time NBA MVP shot 22 of 38 from the field and had six rebounds with four assists, but still finished a minus-1.
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It’s the 13th game of his illustrious career in which Curry has had 50 or more points. He has been especially hot over the past week, pouring in 33 or more in four of Golden State’s last five games.
Jonathan Kuminga reached double figures for the 26th consecutive game but his streak of eight straight games with at least 20 points came to an end, as he finished with 16 points while grabbing four rebounds. He fouled out in the fourth quarter, compromising the Warriors' defense down the stretch.
Rookie Brandin Podziemski flirted with a triple-double for the second straight night, finishing with 15 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for his fifth double-double of the 2023-24 NBA season. Klay Thompson added 10 points despite shooting 4 of 19 overall and 2 of 13 on 3-point range.
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The Warriors (21-25) missed a chance to win their third consecutive game for the first time since mid-December when they beat the Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards and Portland Trail Blazers.
Golden State was again without Dario Saric (illness) and lost Andrew Wiggins to a foot injury in the first half. Warriors coach Steve Kerr didn't have an update on the severity of the forward's injury.
The game featured two of the top scoring teams in the NBA and it played out that way, even though Golden State had trouble taking care of the ball and committed 14 turnovers.
The Warriors led late in the fourth quarter before Dejounte Murray’s game-tying jumper. Curry had a chance to win it in regulation but his shot banked off the backboard, hit the rim and bounced away, sending the contest to overtime.
Golden State collapsed in the extra period and made only four of nine shots. Atlanta (22-27) scored the first 11 points of overtime and was 8 of 11 from the floor in OT.
Here are the takeaways from Saturday’s game:
Podz, Wiggs shaken up
The Warriors got a scare in the first half when Podziemski and Wiggins were forced out of the game with injuries.
Podziemski hurt his right leg trying to leap around Trae Young working up-court while Wiggins sustained a foot injury after colliding with Clint Capella.
Podziemski returned and shot 6 of 12, though he was a minus-13. One of his buckets came on a fast-break when Golden State’s first-round draft pick suddenly stopped, motioned to his right before abruptly stopping then pivoting in the opposite direction for a layup.
Wiggins, who has been playing better over the last three weeks than he was earlier in the season, injured his left foot and did not come back. He wasn’t shooting well before going out (1 of 6 from the field) and finished with two points, four rebounds and two blocks.
The good news is that neither injury appeared to be serious. The Warriors are already banged up and missing key players like Chris Paul, Moses Moody and Gary Payton II. Any further losses, especially to a player like Podziemski, could be devastating.
Reserves get it done
A day after Gui Santos provided a spark off the bench while gobbling up precious minutes in place of the absent Saric, the Warriors reserves came up with key plays again. This time it was Lester Quinones who stepped up.
Quinones, who had a career-high 10 points a night earlier against Memphis, scored 17 points in 22 minutes. Included in that was a buzzer-beating 45-foot heave that hit all net to end the first quarter.
Rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis got into the act with an emphatic, soaring dunk in the fourth quarter that led to three-point play and pulled the Warriors within 97-96.
With Golden State short-handed and facing three more games over the next four days of this road trip, Kerr is trying to make sure he doesn’t exhaust his starters and has been more than willing to reach deep down the bench for help.
The development of the younger players on the roster has been a huge plus for Golden State during a season in which there’s been more negatives than positives.
No slowing down Hawks' big men
Golden State’s overall defense has been much improved since Draymond Green returned, but the Hawks were able to penetrate through the Warriors shell and repeatedly attacked inside with their duo of big men, Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu.
The 6-foot-10 Capela was a problem all night, no matter what the Warriors threw at him. Capela had a double-double in the first half and ended the game with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Okongwu, the Hawks’ backup, finished with 22 points with 16 rebounds off the bench.
The Warriors leaned on Green and Kevon Looney, among others, to slow down Atlanta’s powerful duo but had no success.
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