In what will go down as one of the worst losses in recent memory, the Golden State Warriors were dealt an inexplicable loss at the hands of the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night.
Coming into the second night of a back-to-back and missing several key players, the Pacers pulled off the unlikeliest of wins in an overtime thriller.
Missing their starting backcourt and two big men the Indiana Pacers produced a remarkable 121-117 win over the Warriors despite Stephen Curry’s 39 points.
The Warriors looked like a team expecting to coast to an easy victory, with Steve Kerr alluding to that very point in the aftermath of one of the worst losses during his reign as coach.
Steve Kerr: "I blame myself... I did not do a good job preparing the group."
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) January 21, 2022
Although it didn’t produce a dominant, match-winning lead, the Warriors still sat comfortably with an eight-point lead at half time. Perhaps that was part of the issue, the secure lead causing Golden State to continue its lackadaisical approach to the game.
They felt the full force of a Pacer punch early in the third, with Indiana beginning the period on a 13-3 run to take a 68-66 lead. The game ebbed and flowed through the remainder, with the Warriors failing to produce the kind of game-breaking run that may have seemed inevitable.
Even still, the Warriors sat in pole position to claw out an ugly win. Curry went to the line and calmly sunk two free throws, extending the Warrior lead to three with just under ten seconds remaining.
But a questionable decision not to foul proved costly, with former Warrior Justin Holiday drilling a three to send the game into overtime. Golden State scored the opening five points of overtime and and had their chances throughout, but shooting and turnover woes continued to cause havoc as they had throughout the night.
Golden State finished with 21 turnovers for the game, allowing their less credentialed opponents into the game with some sloppy mistakes. They also shot an abysmal 9-42 from beyond the arc, with those numbers regressing to 3-26 for all players excluding Curry. The two-time MVP was the lone positive of the night, finishing with 39 points, five rebounds and eight assists in nearly 44 minutes of action.
The minutes will be of concern though as the Warriors now face the Houston Rockets on the second night of a back-to-back. They’ll do so without Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala, with the Warriors hoping to atone for an embarrassing performance against the Pacers.