SAN FRANCISCO _ On the heels of the Golden State Warriors' trade of starting center Willie Cauley-Stein, head coach Steve Kerr acknowledged that January is a tough time of the year for several reasons.
The trade deadline provides uncertainty, bodies are banged up and mounting losses hurt morale. For much of this rebuilding season, the Warriors have pragmatically tried to take the long view. However, Friday's 129-118 loss to the Indiana Pacers at Chase Center added to an arduous stretch that has taken a toll on the team.
After Golden State got out to a nine-point lead, Pacers guard Justin Holiday's 3-pointer tied the game in the first quarter, and Indiana went on to take a 19-point lead with 2:32 remaining in the first half.
However, unlike in Wednesday's loss to Utah after which Kerr said the team was "demoralized," the Warriors (10-37) battled back several times in the second half. Guard D'Angelo Russell made four 3-pointers in the third quarter to cut the deficit to four points. But, soon after, they gave up an 11-2 run and fell behind by 13.
The Warriors got the game within single digits again, but poorly-timed errors prevented them from closing the gap. After cutting the lead to seven, guard Alec Burks' goal tend with 2:24 left thwarted an otherwise strong defensive possession.
Turnovers ruined the team's most impressive shooting performance in almost a month. Despite shooting 48.8% overall and 48.7% from 3-point range, the Warriors committed 20 turnovers that led to 33 points for the Pacers.
Russell led the Warriors with 37 points on 13-for-21 shooting (9-for-13 from 3-point range) and five assists, though he did have five turnovers in his 36 minutes. Forward Draymond Green finished with a double-double with 10 points and 11 assists, while forward Glenn Robinson III had 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting (2-for-5 from 3-point range) and seven rebounds.
Starting in place of Cauley-Stein, center Marquese Chriss had 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting and three rebounds.
Leading the Pacers (30-16) was forward TJ Warren, who had 33 points on 14-for-23 shooting (3-for-6 from 3-point range), five rebounds and two assists.
The loss is Golden State's 13th in the last 14 games as they prepare to play their next five games on the road.
