warriors vs pacers recap (Photo: LetsGoWarriors.com Instagram account)
[NOTE: Check out the companion post to this: Sights & Sounds From #WarriorsGround – #Roaracle In Full Force Despite Loss To Pacers]ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — In the post-game locker room interviews, David Lee summed up the Golden State Warriors‘ poor start best and said, “We just didn’t make the adjustment quick enough.”
The Indiana Pacers came out scorching the nets so much, you wondered:
Press row computers are out, but I'm guessing FG% > FT% at the moment?
— Poor Man's Commish (@poormanscommish) January 21, 2014
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The Warriors are sure to be blasted in the NBA blogosphere for terrible defense in the first quarter, and floor leader Stephen Curry admitted that they were “a step slow” on Pacers sets that they knew were coming, but at times it seemed great defense beat great offense, with Paul George scoring 14 points in the first frame and Lance Stephenson aggressively finishing plays such as this one, even after the Warriors played about 20 seconds of the 24-second shotclock to defensive perfection:
Great sequence there where great offense beats great defense. Stephenson's finishing drive was virtually unstoppable.
— Poor Man's Commish (@poormanscommish) January 21, 2014
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By the time the first quarter horn came along, #DubNation was lamenting another quarter of giving 35 points:
#Pacers shot 16-for-25 in Q1. They came out focused. #Warriors played bad, but just need to keep it in single-digits, should be fine.
— Poor Man's Commish (@poormanscommish) January 21, 2014
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From there, the Warriors got better, but the hole they had dug themselves was too deep against the best team in the league.
With the bench not being able to shorten the lead against the Pacers’ bench at the end of the first and beginning of the second quarters, the starters played heavy minutes in the third:
Klay, Iguodala, and D.Lee all have their hands on their knees after Andre's missed oppotunity after the steal. Might be gassed.
— Poor Man's Commish (@poormanscommish) January 21, 2014
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Pacers coach Frank Vogel said, “It was like the movie ‘Rocky II’. I’m not sure which guy was going to fall first. Both teams were completely exhausted and I wasn’t sure quite who it was favoring but I felt like it might be favoring us so I let it go and Mark ended up taking one (a timeout).”
Adam Lauridsen of the San Jose Mercury News:
The Warriors’ defense tightened as the game wore on — 39%, 39% and 36% shooting for the Pacers over the final three quarters — but the Pacers aren’t the Toronto Raptors.
Iguodala collected four steals throughout the game. Draymond Green play a very, very high level caliber defense, against the likes of premier offensive talents like David West and Danny Granger as well as being severely under-sized against Luis Scola and, on brief occasion, Roy Hibbert. Draymond warranted this praise:
Draymond got a hand on that Granger miss. He's playing like an NBA All-Defensive First Teamer.
— Poor Man's Commish (@poormanscommish) January 21, 2014
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Carl Steward of the Bay Area News Group:
Golden State got back to within two points, 79-77, when Harrison Barnes connected on a 3-point basket with 9:52 to go in the game. The Warriors, who already have seven double-digit comeback wins this season — including four by 15 points or more — appeared poised to post one against the team with the best record in the league.
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But just as the Warriors were primed to complete the rally, the Pacers repelled their surges. Ultimately, dagger 3-pointers down the stretch by Lance Stephenson and George Hill staved off the Golden State comeback, and the Warriors were left to reflect on the deep hole they dug.
Sarah Todd of SFBay.ca with a description of how the game ended:
Curry who had 10 third-quarter points, opened up the final frame with a three-pointer to bring the Warriors within five.
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An already physical game got even more physical with 8:49 to play.
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Stephenson put his shoulder down and drove hard into Curry sending him sliding across the hardwood, but the officials had just called Draymond Green for a foul. Curry immediately got to his feet and into the face of Stephenson but were quickly separated and no additional fouls were charged.
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(Klay) Thompson continued to play stifling defense on George, but George, who finished with 23 points, connected on a contested jumper putting the Pacers on top 87-79 with just over five minutes left to play, but Thompson answered right back with a deep three.
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With consecutive trips to the charity stripe, Lee brought the Warriors within three. But the Pacers were able to open things up once more, as Andrew Bogut limped to the locker room giving Indiana a size advantage.
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The final minute was frantic as (Andre) Iguodala turned the ball over on a defensive rebound and on the other side Curry and Thompson both missed on three-point opportunities to finish the game.
It turned out that Bogut had a minor knee-on-knee collision.
On the comeback effort, Bogut said postgame in the locker room, “We made shots. We competed a little better. We got a couple stops late; we went into our 3-2 zone in the third quarter. We got a lot of stops, I think they were 1-for-7 at one point, but we couldn’t get the rebound. That’s what cost us.”
Monte Poole of CSN Bay Area with the afterthought:
The Warriors chasing the playoffs and more. The Pacers presume the playoffs and more. The difference was evident in the Warriors’ 102-94 loss to Indiana on Monday night at Oracle Arena.
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In a game crackling with playoff intensity, particularly in the second half, it became evident that the Warriors (26-17) are trying to learn what the Pacers (33-7) already know.
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Stephen Curry finished with a game-high 24 points, adding nine assists. Three other Warriors scored in double figures, as David Lee added 20, Klay Thompson 17 and Andrew Bogut 10.
Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle in summation:
Every Indiana starter scored at least 14 points, and the team with the league’s best record played its usual stifling defense to hold off the Warriors’ frantic comeback attempt and claim a 102-94 victory in front of the 56th consecutive sellout crowd at Oracle Arena.
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“They’re a team built for a championship, and you can see that now. We’re close, but we’re not there yet,” said Warriors center Andrew Bogut, who had 10 points, 13 rebounds and two blocked shots in his 10th double-double of the season. “They’ve been through what we’re going through right now. … We’re aspiring to be that.”
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The game pitted the league’s best two teams over the past 15 games, with both teams going 12-3 and producing top-four defensive ratings during the stretch. But on this night, the Pacers looked to be much further along than the Warriors.
Check out our Sights & Sounds From #WarriorsGround article pertaining to the #Roaracle Experience from last night!
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