Warriors’ self-defeating tendency on display again in loss to Mavs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Fate did the Warriors a favor Wednesday night, and they fumbled it.
And in the process, failed their first test at the intersection of Mediocrity and Breakthrough.
The Warriors rolled into American Airlines Center on Wednesday for a rare “statement” game in February. They were facing the Dallas Mavericks, who were missing five rotation players – and all four of their centers. This was not a so-called must-win, but a nationally televised opportunity to whisper to the rest of the NBA they were beyond the days of exasperation.
It was not to be. The Warriors ate every overcooked morsel of 111-107 defeat that came with the same tone of exasperation that haunted them during their December-January stupor. Back when Stephen Curry was toting a load heavy enough for three – and before the arrival of certified co-closer Jimmy Butler.
“We’ve got to be more physical early in the game,” Gary Payton II told reporters in Dallas after Kyrie Irving scored 11 of his game-high 42 points in a first quarter in which the Mavericks shot 65 percent from the field, including 57.1 percent from deep.
“I just think it took us too long to start playing and really focusing and locking in on executing at both ends,” coach Steve Kerr said. “We messed around with the game for too long and left ourselves vulnerable. And, obviously, they cashed in.”
If these comments sound familiar, it is because they are. Similar statements have been made after the 10 or so maddening losses before Jimmy.
This one represents a particularly ominous setback because the Warriors lost with Butler. Because this had “before Jimmy” vibes even though Butler played 35 minutes and finished with 21 points, a team=-high nine rebounds and seven assists.
This puts a sudden pause to the burgeoning momentum built with Golden State’s successive wins in the wake of Butler’s celebrated arrival and immediate impact.
It will expand from pause to halt if the Warriors can’t recover Thursday in Houston and avoid going into the All-Star break with back-to-back losses. They’re facing the Rockets less than 20 hours after Curry played 37 minutes, Butler played 35 and Draymond Green labored for 32. Kerr did not divulge the playing status of the three vets on Thursday.
“It’s a tough back-to-back, and that’s what makes this loss even more frustrating,” Kerr said. “We’re going to get into Houston at 3 o’clock (a.m.), or whatever it is, because the NBA in its infinite wisdom makes us play an 8:45 (p.m.) game.”
No, this game was the one that could have assuaged the anxiety gripping the citizens of Dub Nation. Coming away with a victory when justifiably favored might have led the fan base to believe losses to such underdogs as Utah and Toronto and Brooklyn were ancient history not to be repeated. Losses that left players and coaches unable to pinpoint the how, or why it happened again, caught in a raging battle to keep believing.
Yet there it was, the Warriors falling behind 15-6 in the first four minutes, prompting Kerr to call a timeout. Dallas opening the second quarter with an 8-2 run, hiking its lead to eight (40-32), and Kerr calling another timeout. Quinten Post drained a corner 3-ball 19 seconds later, but the Mavericks came back with eight unanswered points for a 12-point lead. And another timeout.
“Tough start, and then we fought away back in the first quarter,” Curry said. “At the beginning of the third, we kind of lost our cool, we left bad calls affect our body language. We did fight down the stretch and try to give ourselves a chance.”
A victory would have given the Warriors their first three-game win streak in nearly three months. It would have been an indicator of real progress, a milestone of sorts, after several false starts. That they succeeded with a little help from fate.
Instead, the Warriors head for Houston having failed for the fifth time since Nov. 15 when facing an opportunity to string together three consecutive wins.
Plenty of games remain, but not nearly enough if they can’t break this self-defeating tendency.
