Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson weren’t pleased with how the Golden State Warriors gave away a 17-point lead at halftime to fall to the Houston Rockets on a last-second overtime game-winner.
Curry, who led the team in scoring with 35 points on the night, noted the Warriors led by as much as 20 points at one point, yet squandered it with sloppy play and bad shot selection:
“Tough to give up a lead like that in the second half,” said Curry. “… For sure, when you have a lead like that you don’t lose at home. Obviously James [Harden] made a whole bunch of shots, they got the ball moving and he hit a whole bunch of 3s in the third quarter. That gave them some life.
“I don’t know if it’s slow rotations or just a little laziness with that lead, but again, when you have a lead like that, it’s a tough way to go out.”
Stephen Curry on #Warriors giving game away tonight: “When you have a lead like that (20 points) you don’t lose at home.” pic.twitter.com/7GSLjgcnVr
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) January 4, 2019
The Warriors are now 0-4 in overtime play this season, a serious omen considering just how much tighter competition will be in the playoffs.
“I do feel we did,” said Klay Thompson after Curry was asked if he thought they gave the game away, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “I don’t think we played with that killer instinct in that second half. I think we relaxed being up.”
Golden State is known as a third-quarter team, but the defending champs dropped the ball on this night, allowing the Rockets to rack up 39 points in the third. The Dubs were then outscored again in the fourth, eventually laying the foundation for a potential game-winner to beat them in overtime.
There’s a lot to clean up with the Warriors, who have yet to play with the same energy and focus for the full stretch of a game. If they can conjure that somehow before the playoffs, they could start to look past these types of head-scratching performances.
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