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Reeling Warriors fall to .500 with shorthanded loss to Clippers despite comeback effort – The Mercury News

Reeling Warriors fall to .500 with shorthanded loss to Clippers despite comeback effort – The Mercury News

LOS ANGELES – The Warriors didn’t have Steph Curry or Draymond Green, but they played with the intensity such an adverse situation demands.

The Warriors fought for every rebound, applied ball pressure, intercepted dribblers and wreaked havoc at every opportunity, cutting their 19-point deficit to three in the fourth quarter.

But the comeback efforts ultimately remained unfinished. Jonathan Kuminga scored a career-high 34 points on 11-for-19 shooting and 11-for-14 at the foul line, but was the lone bright spot on a sluggish offensive night.

Golden State’s offense, ranked No. 23 in December, looks set to decline even further after the Warriors scored 92 points and shot 7 of 38 (18%) from behind the 3-point arc.

Curry (repairing a knee injury) and Green (bruised back) each sat out the first night of a meeting, leaving the Warriors to pull off a miracle. The fourth quarter was exciting, but ended disappointingly with a 102:92 defeat.

After starting the season 12-3, the Warriors are at .500. They’ve lost 12 of their last 15 games, a lull that spanned five weeks of boring play, a constant search for lineup solutions and a motivational speech from Curry. Golden State (15-15) finds itself in a perilous position with two games left in the calendar year.

The Warriors are who they are because of Curry and Green. Since they were without her for a night, they had to change.

The last time each of them missed a game, the Warriors beat the Rockets by a season-high 33 points off Kuminga. The fourth-year winger had the ball in his hands much more than usual, initiating offense and executing high pick-and-rolls.

Against the Clippers, the Warriors tried to make up for in energy what they lacked in star power and shot creation. Golden State chased down seven offensive rebounds in as many minutes early in the game. Even as they shot 30% from the floor and 3 of 12 from deep — including a pair of air balls — they won the first quarter by two. Brandin Podziemski hit a three-pointer to give the Warriors the lead before halftime.

In the game, the Warriors grabbed 19 offensive rebounds and forced 21 turnovers.

Kuminga came off the bench and quickly became a focal point when he was deployed. Steve Kerr kept him going for 18 minutes in the first and second quarters.

He earned the extended appearance and scored 13 points, including 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Kuminga also made an impact on defense, finishing the possession with rebounds and intercepting a pass on the perimeter, leading to a Buddy Hield conversion 3.

Like that game, the Warriors tried to break down the Clippers’ offensive sets before they started by denying Ivica Zubac and other initiators the ball. On offense, they played a lot more drive-and-kick balls than usual and adjusted to their personnel. Dennis Schroder (7 points on 3-for-11 shooting) also ran a lot of pick-and-rolls but couldn’t find the net and was benched for the fourth quarter.

After halftime, the Clippers realized that Golden State had virtually no outside shooting, so they went to town to stuff everything in the paint. They went 0 of 8 from 3 and scored just 19 points in the third quarter. The only chance to score reliably was in transition.

James Harden took aim at the smaller Schroder at the other end. When the Warriors attacked Kuminga with a top lock, he broke that too. Norman Powell and Derrick Jones Jr. added points and helped the Clippers extend a nine-point lead to 81-62 at halftime.

Facing a 19-point deficit, the Warriors relentlessly turned the Clippers around with ball pressure. Golden State forced four consecutive giveaways in a 90-second span. Lindy Waters III intercepted Harden and then stripped him – two of four turnovers in the final frame for the Clippers guard.

As Harden collapsed, Trayce Jackson-Davis threw in a baby hook for a five-point game with just under five minutes left, capping an 18-4 run. Minutes later, Kuminga initiated the offense in the halfcourt, finding Moses Moody in the corner for a 3-pointer that came within just three points.

But the Clippers went on a 9-0 knockout run in the crucial minute.

Commitment was never a problem for the undermanned Warriors. But in the final two minutes, the Clippers had just enough to hold off Golden State.

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