Interesting pass from Klay here pic.twitter.com/feOozVWhq4
— KNBR (@KNBR) November 28, 2017
OAKLAND–It should have been the Klay Thompson game.
Instead, it was the Patrick McCaw game.
And when it’s McCaw and not Thompson, who shines on a night like Monday, that’s a bad sign for the Warriors.
On Monday evening, Kevin Durant was sidelined with an ankle sprain while Steph Curry was out with a bruised hand, but for all the bumps and bruises the Warriors have suffered through the first month and a half of the season, none might be as ugly as the hit their record took against the Sacramento Kings.
Led by an efficient, confident version of McCaw and a host of second-unit players, Golden State appeared poised to overcome one of the worst teams in the Western Conference, but a late fourth quarter run from Sacramento coupled with ice cold shooting from Thompson down the stretch led to a 110-106 Warriors’ loss.
Though the status of Durant’s injury remains “day-to-day” according to head coach Steve Kerr, the 2017 NBA Finals MVP has now missed four of the team’s last five games with an ankle injury that’s been slow to heal. Curry, on the other hand, likely could have played on Monday if the Warriors were in a must-win scenario, but Golden State is still five-plus months away from encountering one of those. Thus, Kerr leveled the playing field against one of the NBA’s worst teams, allowing the Kings to drive down I-80 with an opportunity to upset the defending champs.
Instead of starting backup point guard Shaun Livingston, Kerr tabbed McCaw, the second-year guard out of UNLV, who has struggled for several weeks when he’s been in the rotation with the Warriors’ regulars. Kerr saw Monday night’s game as a low-pressure opportunity for McCaw to run with a unit where he could pass and shoot freely, and the young point guard took advantage of it.
Though he entered Monday averaging just 3.3 points per game, McCaw flourished, tallying 19 points with six assists, eight rebounds, and a career-high four steals.
McCaw ?
McCaw ?
McCaw ? pic.twitter.com/iNrK0nejSq
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 28, 2017
McCaw’s efforts were aided throughout the first half by the Warriors’ veterans, who kept the matchup even thanks to steady play. Livingston, David West and Andre Iguodala offered Golden State solid minutes against an improved Kings’ bench, and Iguodala even provided a highlight-reel slam.
The backup guard was actually considered doubtful for Monday’s game with a sore knee, but without Curry and Durant on the floor, the Warriors needed more of a presence at the guard position and Iguodala delivered.
Iguodala goes reverse on him ? pic.twitter.com/Sr9JnFvCGb
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 28, 2017
With the game tied midway through the second quarter, Bell entered for the first time and put his stamp on a game in which the Warriors clearly needed more athleticism. After taking over at forward, the rookie out of Oregon caught a Klay Thompson airball and turned it into a putback dunk, cashed in with a chase down block of a Sacramento guard, and helped start a 7-0 spurt that forced the Kings to call a timeout.
Bell’s dunk wasn’t the only alley-oop the Warriors’ threw down on Monday, as reserve center JaVale McGee caught a laser from Draymond Green on a fastbreak that turned into two of the quickest transition points Golden State has scored this season.
✅ Klay transition defense
✅ Half-court outlet
✅ McGee alley-oop pic.twitter.com/B3tJ85HUMl— KNBR (@KNBR) November 28, 2017
For all the positives that emerged for a Warriors team missing its two best players, though, Golden State struggled to hang onto second and third quarter leads and wound up allowing an extended Sacramento run that gave the Kings a one-point edge heading into the fourth quarter.
In the final minute, Sacramento guard Bogdan Bogdanovic drove down the lane and rose over Green for a layup. Green wanted an offensive foul, but he didn’t get the call and Bogdanovic’s make turned out to be the game-winner.