The Golden State Warriors season has gone from bad to worse, plunging into an even deeper hole after a 104-101 loss to the lowly Toronto Raptors at Scotia Bank Arena on Monday.
The Raptors had entered 1-16 in their last 17 games and 8-31 on the season, but that mattered little as the same familiar issues again reared their ugly head for a Warrior team who have now fallen below .500.
Former Warriors big man Chris Boucher led the Raptors to victory in the fourth
It feels appropriate that the new low point of Golden State's season was inflicted by one of their former players, with Chris Boucher lifting Toronto to a rare victory in what was a 29-23 fourth-quarter after the Warriors had entered the period up three.
Boucher, who played just one game as a member of Golden State on a two-way contract in 2017-18, had just one point through the first three-quarters. Yet the 32-year-old exploded for 17 in the fourth, delivering a series of threes and dunks that changed the momentum of the game.
BOUCHER with authority 😤‼️ pic.twitter.com/th6t409imF
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) January 14, 2025
As good as Boucher was, the Warrior offense was again nothing short of horrible down the stretch. They may have been lucky just to get to 23 points in the period, with Kevon Looney and Andrew Wiggins bailing them out with a tough jump-shots at the end of the shot-clock after stagnat possessions.
Stephen Curry was hounded by all game, yet fought his way to 26 points, seven rebounds and seven assists on 9-of-17 shooting from the floor. Wiggins added four threes and 20 points back in his home country, but the Golden State offense was again largely lifeless against a defense that ranks third-last on the season.
Buddy Hield again struggled, shooting 3-of-13 from the floor and 2-of-10 from 3-point range which included a potential game-tying three at the buzzer that would have forced overtime. Dennis Schroder wasn't much better with 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting, while veterans Kyle Anderson (13 points on 4-of-5 shooting) and Kevon Looney (10 points, nine rebounds) were really the only pair to provide anything meaningful off the bench.
Golden State were without Draymond Green who missed Monday's game through illness, but it's the ongoing absence of Jonthan Kuminga that may be felt the most given the team's blatant offensive issues.
The Warriors are now 19-20 on the season and have fallen to 11th in the Western Conference standings, with a matchup to come against the Timberwolves in Minnesota on Wednesday.