What we learned as Warriors' offense stalls in blowout loss to Cavs

BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO – The good vibes that carried the Warriors through the weekend were shredded Monday night.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, the best team in the NBA this season, rolled into Chase Center, allowed themselves some early lollygagging before engaging the boosters and leaving the Warriors with a 113-95 loss.

Six Warriors scored in double figures, none reaching the 20-point mark. Moses Moody led with 19 points, followed by Jonathan Kuminga with 18 and Trayce Jackson-Davis with 16.

Cleveland’s backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland outscored Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Dennis Schröder 48-23.

Coming off a feel-good win over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday, the Warriors are back searching for solutions for such persistent problems as botched possessions, missed layups and defensive miscues.

This marks the second consecutive season that Golden State was swept by Cleveland in the two-game season-series.

Here are three observations from a game that dropped the Warriors (16-16) back to .500:

Offense Goes Comatose

The autopsy for this loss begins with the second quarter, in which Golden State’s offense went into hiding and stayed there.

To be fair, neither team made a field goal until Andrew Wiggins dropped in a floater with 7:33 left in the half. From that point on, it was all Cavaliers. They moved into command position by outscoring Golden State 20-8 over the remainder of the half.

How bad was it for the Warriors? They scored 11 points in the quarter, their lowest total in any quarter this season. They shot 4-of-24 from the field and missed all eight of their 3-point shots. And it wasn’t a matter of great defense by the Cavaliers, as they missed open shots from all three levels – even failed to score a single point off Cleveland’s five turnovers in the quarter.

Nine different Warriors got minutes in the quarter, and only two – Andrew Wiggins and Kuminga – scored field goals. The other seven went a combined 0-of-13.

This was the abyss, for it can’t get any lower.

Oh, Buddy

Buddy Hield’s slide continues, and it’s approaching the critical stage.

Hield missed open 3-pointers, missed layups and finished with two points on 1-of-8 shooting, including 0-of-3 from beyond the arc.

That’s how it has been going for Hield, who was coming off a 0-of-7 shooting night against the Suns on Saturday. Since making an early bid for Sixth Man of the Year with hot shooting, he has cooled considerably. If Buddy isn’t scoring, he’s not being effective.

In the seven games since his 27-point outburst in a victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Dec. 8, Hield is shooting 27-of-78 (34.6 percent) from the field, including 15-of-55 (27.3 percent) from distance.

Coach Steve Kerr, speaking two hours before tipoff, expressed confidence in Hield regaining his touch. History says one of the league’s best deep shooters won’t stay in refrigeration.

That is where Hield is now, and it’s tough on the eyes. Tougher on the second unit.

Nice Start Goes To Waste

The Warriors surely recall the first meeting between the teams, on Nov. 8, when the Cavs raced to a 20-2 lead in less than five minutes, igniting a tip-to-buzzer rout.

There would be no repeat.

Playing fast and forceful from the jump, the Warriors went up seven (16-9) in first five minutes and maintained a lead deep into the second quarter.

Golden State forced four turnovers in the first seven minutes and, despite Cleveland’s size advantage, dominated the glass, with Trayce Jackson-Davis snagging eight rebounds in the first quarter, the most in any quarter in his career.

Running the offense as designed, with consistent ball movement, the Warriors recorded eight assists in the opening quarter and all eight players to stepped onto the floor managed at least one field goal.

One good quarter, however, doesn’t win a basketball game.

Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast