On Sunday night, the game between the Warriors and the Lone Rangers entered the fourth quarter, with all the arrows pointing to the Golden State Warriors' easy victory.
In the first three quarters, the Warriors' defense was suffocating. Their offense has its classic "free-flow play" characteristics. At one point, they led by 21 points and were 19 points ahead in the fourth quarter. But when the countdown to the final 12 minutes began, the momentum of the game took a complete turn, and in the end the Warriors lost to the Lone Ranger 101-107.
The Golden State Warriors' 19-point lead was flipped in the league's biggest fourth quarter of the season.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said, "We didn't keep our intensity in the final moments. We just let the momentum go away from us. We can't just say, 'Well, wait until Draymond (Green) and Andrea (Iguodala) come back and we'll be fine'. No matter who is on the pitch, we need to do better and stay competitive in terms of pressure execution. It's actually good to experience and feel that because that's what it's like in the playoffs, you're going to have to face a really good team. ”
The decisive moment of the match began at 9 minutes and 44 seconds in the fourth quarter and continued until 1 minute and 30 seconds left in the game. During those 8-1 minutes, the Mavericks hit a 26-1 surge, with the Warriors' only point coming from Andrew Wiggins' free throw.
Kerr attributed the Lone Ranger's offense to the Lone Ranger's small lineup and Spencer Dinwiddie's fiery performance. Dinwiddie scored 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter.
"We tried a few different squad combinations to try to regain momentum, but we just couldn't find a way. When the opponent played a small lineup, we failed to respond. We missed some empty shooting opportunities, but the opponent seized them. Cole said.
"We played a great defense for 36 minutes." Stephen Curry said, "We thought the game was in full swing. For whatever reason, when we don't score, our energy changes. The opponents kept scoring, and we started to get discouraged. There is no reason for this. ”
Curry is right: The Warriors' defensive early days were very suffocating, especially with Wiggins and Gary Payton II. In the first half, Wiggins, as the main defender, made the Lone Rangers 2-of-11 shooting, and he also made three turnovers. Together with Payton, he let Luka Doncic hit just 1 of 8 shots and made four turnovers.
But as the Golden State Warriors' offense has declined, so has their defense.
Kevin Looney said: "Our attack determines our energy and spirit in the game and when adversity comes, we kind of shrink back. ”
Sunday's collapse marked the second consecutive home game in which the Warriors lost a considerable advantage in the fourth quarter, and the second time in the last three games that this has happened. The other was against the Denver Nuggets on Feb. 16.
Curry said: "We have to figure out how we keep our energy when the shot doesn't make, and that's probably the way it is in playoff games. So I would say that despite experiencing these feelings bad, it's still a good lesson. ”
Curry believes the Warriors can learn from the game against the Lone Rangers, and so does Kerr. He highlighted effort and execution under pressure, two main aspects he would like to see. However, it doesn't happen for no reason. As Kerr said, the Golden State Warriors are nowhere near dependent on the return of Green and Iguodala alone.
"We have to have an advantage. We're going to keep that advantage in 48 minutes, and every game we have a chance to do that – turn it into a positive side and try to build momentum, but it doesn't happen naturally just because the coach says it or we want to do it. We have to do that. Curry said.