The Golden State Warriors‘ ALMOST walked away with a buzzer-beating win to improve to 2-0 at Las Vegas Summer League Sunday night.
But LaDonatae Henton‘s corner 3 had just a little too much spin and it rolled off the rim as time expired in the Warriors’ 71-70 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
It was an ugly, gritty game from start to finish with the Warriors shooting just 31.9 percent from the field, the Hawks committing 20 turnovers and both teams combining to shoot just 47% (16-34) from the free throw line.
James Michael McAdoo also had a go-ahead shot go in-and-out in the final minute, just before the Hawks re-took the lead on a Glen Robinson III free throw.
Though it was the Warriors first loss of Summer League thus far, Head Coach Luke Walton said this is just another important experience for the young players on the roster.
“In the NBA you lose and you’ve got to get over it,” Walton said. “You play 4-in-5 nights, back-to-back all the time in the NBA so it’s a good lesson to get some experience in letting the loss go, a tough loss like this, getting back to the hotel, getting some sleep and getting your body ready to go for tomorrow.”
McAdoo lead the scoring early, but slowed as the game wore on. After putting up 11 points on 4-7 FGs in the first half, he finished with 17 on 5-11 shooting for the game.
The only other Warrior in double-digits was Henton with 13 points, as he hit three of the Warriors five made 3PT shots in the game.
Point guard Aaron Craft also chipped in another well-rounded effort, with 5 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, but the Warriors just couldn’t seem to muster up any offense when they needed it.
“I think different guys are going to come through in different situations,” Craft said. “We had a shot to win it twice at the end of the game and both of them roll out.”
Also disappointing in the loss was the lack of contribution from Ognjen Kuzmic on offense, though he did grab another 11 rebounds. After scoring 14 points and looking fluid in the opener, he finished with just 4 on 1-5 shooting.
Warriors first-round draft pick Kevon Looney had similar struggles, as he pulled down 6 rebounds but shot just 1-9, mostly on forced shots around the basket.
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