The Golden State Warriors had a seesaw week, alternating between encouraging performances and straight-up debacles. After suffering one of their worst losses of the season against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday, they bounced back in a big way with a convincing blowout win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
But on Saturday against the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State’s demons came back to haunt them. It’s been the same story all over again: without Stephen Curry, the Warriors haven’t been able to stack two strong performances. In fact they haven’t won back-to-back games since Jimmy Butler went down on Jan. 19.
113-109 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans
What worked:
After a disastrous first half — more on that later — the Warriors bounced back offensively. Golden State put up 70 second-half points after tallying just 39 in the first half. They racked up 16 assists while shooting over 50% from the field with De’Anthony Melton, Gui Santos, Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski leading the charge in the absence of Steph Curry.
Melton finished with a game-high 28 points, though he struggled with efficiency (8-of-21 shooting). Santos filled the stat sheet with 15 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks. Moody (24 points) hit the 20-point mark in back-to-back games for the second time this season. Podziemski also made a little history, joining Kevin Durant, David Lee and Andris Biedrins as the only Warriors to post 15+ points and 15+ rebounds in consecutive games over the past 20 years.
What didn't:
The second-half offensive surge was real, but it can’t erase the ugly part: Golden State put itself in a hole early. The Warriors essentially lost the game in the first quarter, falling behind by 11 while shooting 32% from the field and 30% from deep. Add in 12 first-half turnovers against 10 assists, and the damage was done.
Despite an improved, more energized offense in the second half — enough for the Warriors to take a four-point lead in the third — the defense didn’t follow suit. New Orleans dropped 67 second-half points, with Golden State unable to stop them in the paint. The Pelicans scored 40 paint points after the break, finishing with 64 for the game.
133-112 win over the Memphis Grizzlies
What worked:
The Warriors rallied as a group on Wednesday, the second night of a back-to-back, to put together a near-flawless offensive game. Eight of the nine available players finished in double figures, with the lone exception being Malevy Leons, who stuffed the box score with nine points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Golden State drilled 19 threes and piled up 37 assists in a full-team effort.
Will Richard finished with 21 points, five rebounds, six assists and three steals, bouncing back from a rough game in New Orleans in which he went scoreless. Gary Payton II tied his season high with 19 points and added five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Podziemski and Santos stayed on their tear, while Pat Spencer logged his first double-digit scoring game since Feb. 9, finishing with 12 points and nine assists.
What didn't
To be honest, not much. The Warriors controlled the game from top to bottom. But if you want to nitpick, you could point to the perimeter defense as the weak spot, with Memphis shooting 17-of-41 from deep.
129-101 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers
What worked
As much as it was difficult to nitpick about the Memphis game, this time it was hard to find too many positives to take away from this game. The Warriors lost all four quarters, didn't shoot the ball well and weren't competitive for basically the whole game. But they did take care of the ball. Golden State coughed it up just ten times for 32 assists.
Unrelated to the game, but the Warriors locked up one of their best development stories Saturday: Gui Santos agreed to a three-year, $15 million extension. The 55th pick in 2022 has grown into a legitimate rotation piece — and he earned every bit of it.
What didn't
Saturday was a familiar reminder of what the Warriors’ offense looks like without Curry. They never found a groove, hit just 27.3% from three, and didn’t have a single player reach 15 points — Santos led the team with 14.
Golden State had no answers for Luka Doncic and the Lakers. L.A. put together one of its sharpest offensive nights of the season: a season-high 19 threes, 53.3% shooting overall, and only nine turnovers against 29 assists.
Draymond Green continued to struggle in the absence of Curry, posting a team-worst -30 in 24 minutes of action. The veteran is now averaging 8.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists on 36.6% shooting during Curry's extended 10-game absence.
What's next?
Golden State opens a tough stretch Monday vs. the Clippers, then heads to Houston and Oklahoma City for two rough matchups against the Rockets and Thunder.
After Curry’s knee reevaluation, the Warriors are expected to be without him for at least five more games. Kristaps Porziņģis, meanwhile, hasn’t played since his Feb. 19 debut and is set to miss his fifth straight with an illness.