The Warriors falter late against the Lakers as the mood sours

SAN FRANCISCO — One of the few things the Golden State Warriors have been able to rely on in a season that quickly spiraled in a disappointing direction is the solid perimeter defense of Andrew Wiggins.

Five seconds before the end of Wednesday night’s Christmas showcase game against the Los Angeles Lakers, this was put into the spotlight. Steph Curry’s two miraculous 3s in the final 12.2 seconds lifted the Warriors into a sudden tie. They needed a stop to force overtime. Austin Reaves, who had torched them most of the night, had the ball isolated on the left wing against Wiggins.

With a simple jab step, Reaves was able to easily outrun Wiggins with a left drive toward the baseline. As reported after the game, Jonathan Kuminga was too slow to spot Reaves, who raced past Wiggins and into his help zone. Kuminga was too attached to Rui Hachimura, who was sent out. Wiggins offered little resistance.

It was a combination breakdown with a fatal result: a layup for Reaves and a 115-113 Lakers win, even without Anthony Davis for most of the game, sending the Warriors even deeper into the spiral. They are 3-11 in their last 14 games and are down to 15-14 after a blistering 12-3 start.

Austin Reaves killed the Warriors all game long, beating Andrew Wiggins to the rim and securing the win. The Warriors 15-14 after a 12-3 start. pic.twitter.com/sMGMHW7RE1

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 26, 2024

Before the game, starter Trayce Jackson-Davis said there was a player-led meeting in which Curry was particularly vocal. He identified this upcoming stretch of the schedule as the Warriors returning toward .500 at a crucial point in the season and the calendar changing, saying, as Jackson-Davis relayed, that it “can go one way or the other.” . ”

“When Steph talks, he talks at the right moment,” Wiggins said. “It was necessary.”

This wasn’t a lifeless performance from the Warriors. There was some juice, especially curry. He scored a season-high 38 points and made eight 3-pointers, his most on Christmas Day. Wiggins hit three 3s and flew around most of the game, grabbing 12 rebounds, including five on offense. Draymond Green had four blocks. Kuminga made some mistakes, but also managed to hit eight free throws at the line in some key moments, making six of them.

They could have won with a few extra breaks, shots or defensive stops. But they didn’t, which has been an issue lately. The Warriors lead the NBA in clutch games. Nineteen of their 29 games were within 5 points in the final five minutes. Thirteen of the last 15 games were qualified. Almost everything has gone wrong in the fourth quarter lately and they keep finding ways to lose.

“It was difficult to find any kind of momentum or consistency,” Curry said of his pregame message. “You just can’t lose your courage, your faith that we’re a good enough team to figure it out. Because this league is ruthless… You dig yourself a hole that’s hard to get out of. At the moment we are exactly in the time window in which we can gain some momentum. The next few weeks before the (All-Star) break are crucial. Or we find ourselves in a situation where we’re chasing the track and no one wants to be there.”

Part of the benefit of the Warriors’ 12-3 start was the idea that a spot atop the conference standings would allow them to target Curry and Green’s workload during the regular season. This luxury is quickly fading. In a crowded West, the situation has become urgent again. At 15-14, they are tied for eighth place, just two games out of fifth place but just half a game ahead of eleventh place.

Every game, especially against nearby rivals, is crucial. The Warriors play at the LA Clippers on Friday and at home against the Phoenix Suns, two of the closest opponents in the table, on Saturday. Curry played 36 minutes against the Lakers, which Steve Kerr called “tough,” and Kerr said Curry could miss either game. The LA game seems most likely.

“When the knee (tendonitis) came up, (selective rest) was part of the conversation,” Curry said. “I’m still kind of coping with it.”

The bumps don’t stop with Curry. Gary Payton suffered a layup during a third-quarter run but was left with a limp on his left calf. Payton has been relatively healthy this season, but a calf problem and aggravation sent him to the locker room for the rest of the night. He hobbled out of the arena.

Dennis Schröder guards Austin Reaves in the second half. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Dennis Schröder also hobbled around in the locker room after the game. He injured his right ankle in the middle of another inefficient evening for Schröder. He wasn’t the offensive elixir the Warriors were hoping for when they acquired him last week. In his four games with the Warriors, Schröder has made 11 of 39 shots and 4 of 17 from three.

Schröder was tasked with running the second unit when Curry sits. They were fine in this block of the game against the Lakers and even cut the Lakers’ lead from 7 points to 3 points during Curry’s short break in the fourth quarter. But overall, Schröder is part of a rotation that is struggling to find a rhythm around Curry while Kerr continues to mix things up.

Jackson-Davis is now back as the starting center. Kuminga has taken on a heavily used bench role. Podziemski is the third guard. Kyle Anderson didn’t see the word. Moses Moody didn’t get a second on Wednesday.

“To be fair to our guys, we were all over the place rotation-wise this year,” Kerr said. “I had a million different starting lineups. Guys are in and out of rotations. I’m well aware of that and it’s hard for a player not to know how many minutes you’re going to get, what minutes you’re going to get. The reality is that we are searching. We lost 11 out of 14 games. I don’t feel like this is a squad where you say, ‘Here are our top eight guys, top nine guys.’ Our roster is really deep. We have a lot of people who can play. Every game requires something different. That’s the problem.”

(Top photo of Steph Curry after he drained a three-pointer to tie the score in the fourth quarter: Darren Yamashita / Imagn Images)