The Golden State Warriors wasted a big early lead against the Atlanta Hawks. Yet were able to claw back to only a five point deficit by halftime.
In the third quarter the Hawks started strong and their lead ballooned to 14. The Warriors were able to cut that lead to four after a Jordan Poole three, yet he missed two threes in a failed attempt at a two-for-one. Atlanta then took advantage with field goals by Bogdan Bogdanovic and A.J. Griffin.
Trailing by eight to start the fourth, the Warriors’ persistence seemed to pay off until a little over the final two minutes of the game.
Golden State trailed by one after a Stephen Curry layup and after De’Andre Hunter turned the ball over, the Warriors seemed to have the momentum with a golden opportunity to take the lead. So what happened with the game on the line? Total ineptness.
Donte DiVincenzo missed a three, Anthony Lamb was able to battle for the offensive rebound which led to a jump ball, and he won the tip. Curry gained possession and found Klay Thompson who missed a three. Dejounte Murray was then fouled, and he split the free throws. Golden State was now trailing by two at this point and once again missed a three.
A Lamb foul on John Collins meant two free throws, and he made both attempts. The lead was now four. On the subsequent possession Trae Young stole the ball from Curry and ended up with a layup to push the lead to six with 45.5 seconds left.
What does Golden State do next? Go for a quick two? Try to draw a foul to get to the free throw line? The answer is no. Instead, another three was taken by DiVincenzo who missed. Lamb was forced to foul Young who made both free throws, and with the game officially out of hand the last shot of the night was of course a missed Curry three.
The final two minutes of this game shows exactly why the Warriors have struggled on the road. It is one thing if the Warriors are making their threes it is another when struggling to make one. In tonight’s game prior to the last four misses, Golden State was only 11 for 36 from beyond the arc.
So one has to wonder why at least two of those attempts were taken when the Warriors only needed a two to either take the lead or tie the game up.