What went right for the Warriors in fourth quarter of rare road win

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What went right for the Warriors in fourth quarter of rare road win

Wed, 03/22/2023 - 14:24
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HOUSTON — Coach Steve Kerr couldn’t remember the last time the Warriors won a road game this season.

This reporter promptly reminded him Monday night it was Jan. 30.

“Thanks,” he replied. “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

Warriors’ wins away from Chase Center have been few and far between this season, but Golden State took advantage of its best chance to get a victory on this five-game road trip.

Despite playing what Kerr thought was their worst game of the last four, the Warriors overcame a sloppy first half to put an end to their 11-game road losing streak with a 121108 win over the West-worst Houston Rockets.

A fourth-quarter push with the team’s best defensive effort of the night put the Rockets away for good.

Kerr pointed to the threeman combo of Draymond Green, Anthony Lamb and Jonathan Kuminga as being the difference in the final quarter. They deployed a switchable scheme, which helped the Warriors push the pace and get stops while Stephen Curry cooked on the other end.

“We all have pretty good size and good length. And obviously, we’re not 7-foot or anything, but we’re all about the same height, same weight, same size,” Green said of the trio. “Lamb, the spacing that he has, JK slasher and lob threat, I can play make. I think it’s a good group, something we can build on both ends.”

Green would “definitely” like to see more of that combination of him, Lamb and Kuminga sharing the court, though that’s obviously Kerr’s call. In 94 minutes this season, that trio has outscored opponents by 53 points.

“It was pretty good for us, allowed us to get some pace and we were able to open the game up a little bit with that lineup,” Green said.

The Warriors outscored the Rockets 37-28 in the final frame and walked away with a needed win. The 108 points they surrendered were the fewest allowed on the road this season.

“It’s one of those feelings like this is what you’re supposed to do,” Curry said after the win that boosted the Warriors’ road record to 8-29. “We know we have to play better, no one’s really celebrating. It’s just a matter of learning lessons in winning hopefully and get ready for another big game Wednesday.”

The first half of Monday’s win over the Rockets was the epitome of the Warriors’ struggles with focus this season. Golden State turned the ball over 14 times — several of which were live-ball giveaways which led to fast-break opportunities and easy baskets for the springy Rockets.

Green didn’t mince his words when discussing the team’s first-half struggles.

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That changed in the second half, with the Warriors committing only six the rest of the way.

Kerr has repeatedly stressed the need for the Warriors to lock in for longer stretches. They can survive lapses in play like they did Monday against an inexperienced team like the Rockets, who own the second-worst win percentage in the league. But playoff cntenders like the Maveriks, whom the Warriors visit Wednesday, would mkae them pay the price for their lulls.

With how close the Western Conference playoff picture is and knowing there’s a headto- head tiebreaker on the line Wednesda, Curry said the team needs to exude playofflike focus going forward.

“We just have to do it,” Curry said. “The things you can control are tough when you don’t do it because you know you’re usually better than how you’re playing and there’s a frustration level that comes with not being able to execute the simple stuff… “I don’t want to use that pathetic word but it’s like you want to play better, and you talk about it at halftime and we’re going to have to if we’re going to try to do anything this year.”