The Warriors’ physical shortcomings stood out like a sore thumb
against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. For stretches, they
played with small forward Dorell Wright at power forward and even
6-foot-7, 243-pound Jeff Adrien at center. But head coach Keith
Smart attributed the 111-101 loss to his team’s mental
shortcomings.
HOUSTON
The Warriors’ physical shortcomings stood out like a sore thumb against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. For stretches, they played with small forward Dorell Wright at power forward and even 6-foot-7, 243-pound Jeff Adrien at center.
But head coach Keith Smart attributed the 111-101 loss to his team’s mental shortcomings.
Despite trailing all game, the Warriors were right there down the stretch. However, each time they were one or two plays from getting over the hump, it seemed they got in their own way.
“We are not making smart decisions and making critical errors at the wrong time,” Smart said. “We kept our turnovers down (11), but they always seemed to come at the wrong time. Our bench did a great job and got us back in the game. We need to start getting off to a better start and at some point get a lead in the game.”
Houston was missing its starting center and point guard as Yao Ming and Aaron Brooks were out with injuries. That helped the Warriors — down four power forwards, including starter David Lee — come out on top in several of the categories they like to win. They doubled up the Rockets in points in the paint (60-30). They dominated the fastbreak points (25-8). They won the turnover battle, scoring 24 points off 15 Rockets miscues. They outscored Houston in second-chance points (12-6) and even stayed close on the boards (43-38).
Untimely mistakes, however, offset the successes. One fourth-quarter stretch perfectly summed up the night.
After a driving layup by guard Monta Ellis, the Warriors emerged from a timeout down just 88-86 with 8:18 left in the game. But what Smart described as “over-helping” led to a wide-open 3-pointer for Houston guard Courtney Lee.
Then, at the 6:42 mark, Warriors point guard Stephen Curry checked into the game after sitting for just over eight minutes bridging the third and fourth quarters. Golden State, after giving up a 3-pointer to Houston guard Kyle Lowry, was down 94-86 and needed to play near-perfect the rest of the way to steal a win.
But 10 seconds later, after the Warriors inbounded the ball, no one noticed the shot clock was nearly expired. The Warriors had to settle for a rushed 3-point attempt by Ellis. He shot an air ball, leading to a shot-clock violation.
The Warriors got a stop, but Curry gave the ball right back to Houston. He tried a one-handed cross-court pass that was intercepted and turned into a layup by Lowry. Curry’s first turnover of the game put the Warriors down 10.
“I was just trying to make a play,” Curry said. “I got myself into trouble, and I made a bad pass.”
In a two-minute, 59-second span, thanks to three lapses, the Warriors went from being down 2 to being down 10. They never got closer than nine the rest of the way.
“We need to be more patient and focused and more tuned in,” Ellis said after scoring 18 points on 7-for-21 shooting. “We have to turn it around. I believe we could have stolen this game.”
Now, the Warriors find themselves desperate for a win to stop their downward spiral. The potential is there for it to get even uglier, too.
Their next two games are on the road against losing teams. But the road hasn’t been kind to Golden State. After this trip, six of the Warriors’ next seven games will be against teams currently boasting winning records.
“Of course there’s pressure,” said center Andris Biedrins, who finished with six points and 10 rebounds in 30 minutes. “We have to get back to where we were. These next two games we have to win. Must-win games for us. We have to just go out there and get them.”
— Story by Marcus Thompson II, Contra Costa Times
