BOX score

SAN FRANCISCO – No lead is safe in the NBA, as the Warriors learned again Monday night against the rebuilding, undermanned Brooklyn Nets at Chase Center.

The Warriors led by 17 points in the third quarter in San Antonio on Saturday and ended up losing by 10 points. After a day’s rest, the Warriors had an 18-point lead over the Nets in the third quarter. That lead then narrowed to just five by the fourth quarter.

Just over three minutes into the fourth minute, the lead was gone. The Warriors never got it back, losing 128-120. Brooklyn outscored Golden State 41-28 in the fourth quarter.

Steph Curry scored a team-high 28 points on 3-pointers, going 8-of-16. Andrew Wiggins added 18. Moses Moody had 15, but all in the first half. Lindy Waters scored 13 points for the Warriors, including 10 in the first half.

Inexcusably, the Warriors were once again crushed at the free throw line. The Nets made 26 of their 30 free throws. However, the Warriors shot 11 of 17 free throws, which was 15 fewer free throws in an eight-point loss.

Here are three takeaways from Golden State’s second straight frustrating loss.

3-point party

As is often the case in the NBA, the 3-point line was the deciding factor between these two teams. The Warriors and Nets entering Monday both ranked in the top seven in 3-point attempts per game. While Brooklyn ranked seventh with an average of 40.6 attempts per game, Golden State was slightly higher with 41.6 attempts, fourth in the NBA.

It was immediately clear that it was going to be a 3-point shootout at Chase Center. In the first quarter, the Warriors and Nets combined for 48 shots, 31 of which were outside the arc. Although the Warriors were more accurate early in the game, the Nets had a six-point advantage from deep in the first 12 minutes and led by four points.

The advantage at halftime belonged to the Warriors. They made two more 3s than the Nets in the first half and led by nine points. Six Warriors had already cashed in from deep.

Both teams were then tied at 15 three-pointers each at the start of the fourth quarter, while the Nets outscored the Warriors 29-25 in the third quarter. The final tally was 20 3s for the Nets and 19 for the Warriors – with almost half coming from Curry.

Nets coach Jordi Fernandez gave nine players time and each made at least one three-pointer.

Painting evening

When healthy, the Nets are a much longer and bigger team than the Warriors. However, coach Jordi Fernandez had several big players behind and opted for the 1.90 meter tall small forward Ziaire Williams as a small ball center, which the Warriors took advantage of.

And more than their post players like Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis contributed to the action.

Whenever Andrew Wiggins plays downhill, it’s a positive for the Warriors. He made a layup within the first two minutes and didn’t shy away from contact. Moses Moody also had several reasons for joining the Nets.

Gary Payton II, 1.90 meters tall, demonstrated his uniqueness in many ways. With about four minutes left in the first half, Payton sprinted down the court after a Nets layup missed and fended off 6-foot-10 Cam Thomas. He got in position for a fastbreak layup after Brandin Podziemski hit him for an easy throw. Later in the first half, Payton threw down a dunk after Curry missed a three.

The Warriors had eight points more than the Nets in the first quarter, 12 to 4. At halftime there were 30 points for the Warriors, 16 more than the Nets’ 14.

In their Saturday night loss to the Spurs, the Warriors rejoiced in defeat early on, but settled far too often as their lead evaporated. The Warriors scored more than twice as many points as the Nets, 52 to 34, but other aspects of the game were too much to overcome.

Dynamic duo

For more than a decade, the combination of Curry and Draymond Green has completely changed the way basketball is viewed, both offensively and defensively. A sequence in the third quarter showed exactly how.

Green ran around like an All-Pro free safety, surveying the Nets offense before surprising their sensational scorer Cam Thomas. When Thomas took a dribble handoff with the shot clock running out, he thought he had a chance for a three-pointer. Green thought otherwise.

The legendary defender flipped the switch, closing in on Thomas and forcing a miss deep off the back of the rim. The ball then bounced to Curry, who carried it down the court, sent it flying off the left wing and sprayed a three-pointer to Thomas and Jalen Wilson.

Curry was fouled on Wilson’s shot and completed the four-point play after celebrating on the floor.

STEPH 4 POINT GAME 🤑 pic.twitter.com/KgbykTNbKh

– Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 26, 2024

These 30 seconds perfectly show the impact that only Curry and Green can have on the game. They will also be forgotten after such a terrible loss.

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