After a brutal, last-second loss to the Sacramento Kings Thursday night, the Warriors opted to do it all over, but with twice the pain. Heart palpitations and clutch failure for the second night in a row.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday's outrageous, 145-144 double-overtime loss to the Lakers. Skip to the end to start with the play-by-play recap of the fourth-through-extra quarters.
The new starting lineup
It is abundantly clear that if the Warriors are going to make a play-in run (that seems the best case right now), Saturday's starting lineup is the one that makes the most sense.
Steve Kerr injected Draymond Green in the Warriors starting lineup for the first time since returning from his 11-game suspension and ramp up.
Green was alongside Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga. That lineup is clearly the best the Warriors have.
It just hasn't worked because it either hasn't been available due to Green's absence, or the other players not named Curry (mostly Wiggins) weren't playing well.
After Steve Kerr said he was disinclined to inject Wiggins and Kuminga into the same lineup, he seems to have realized he has no choice. And with Wiggins (more on him next) putting in effort, it's a viable lineup.
The Warriors desperately missed Draymond Green. He is the one who runs the ship, steering it through raging waters. While he also has the capacity to run it aground, he's more often than not the one who saves the Warriors from shipwreck.
His ability to get the Warriors organized is multifaceted. His screening, directing of traffic, and knowledge of when to push the pace are all massive. It extends far beyond assists, which is to say, Green still had 11 of them. He was a team-high +31, tallying 8 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and a couple turnovers in addition to the assists. The Lakers went on a 10-0 run in the third quarter with him out.
Every one of those starters besides Green had 20 points or more. Curry had 46 points (17-of-36, 9-of-22 from 3-pt), 3 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal. Thompson had 24 points (9-of-24, 6-of-17 from 3-pt), 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Kuminga put in 22 points (8-of-16, 2-of-3 from 3-pt), 9 rebounds and a couple assists.
Oh, and Wiggins?
Wiggins is... doing things
Wiggins had 22 points (8-of-11, 3-of-4 from 3-pt), 4 rebounds, an assist, block and steal. It is just his fifth game this season that he's scored 20 points or more.
Here's the thing about any prospective Andrew Wiggins trade. The good version (not even best!) is likely better than anything they could get for him.
On an increasing basis, Wiggins looks more and more like the player that helped Golden State to a championship. He's not there yet, and is still miles from the player he was on that championship run... but he is playing well, finally.
And Warriors actually don't need Wiggins to play that well to at least be competitive. They just need him to try. Him playing with effort on both ends manifests on defense and on the boards, and typically leads to some open 3-pointers.
Wiggins is trying, as has been highlighted by plays like his chasedown block on LeBron James. His effort continues to show up. The Warriors still need more from him, but he's closer to what he should be.
The exhausting ending
The conclusion of this game will be marred by the fact that the Warriors went cold late. They were 0-of-7 through a crucial stretch late in the fourth. Andrew Wiggins bricked a pair of free throws.
There was a clean box out from Curry on Davis late in the fourth that was inexplicably called a foul on Curry.
After that, an inadvertent whistle prevented a Klay Thompson shot attempt, which led to a jump ball between Davis and Green.
Green somehow won that tip, which led to a Curry layup.
But they also benefitted from bad officiating. After that layup, Green whacked Davis wildly across the face on the inbounds. It was a pretty clear flagrant that went uncalled. Davis, who battled through hip spasms all night, missed one of the free throws.
That left Golden State with 14.7 seconds to redeem themselves for the Kings loss. Curry got the inbounds, drove, put Davis in a spin cycle, then drove to the rim for a clutch layup. Davis turned it over on the other end and Thompson's prayer from half court went unanswered. Overtime.
After two Lakers buckets, the Warriors had a couple of their own. Then LeBron James missed, got his own rebound, and finished the second chance. James, by the way, was ridiculous. He had 36 points (14-of-25, 2-of-4 from 3-pt) with a career-high 20 rebounds, 12 assists and 3 turnovers. He played 44 minutes. He's 40. Ridiculous.
Curry, after that score from James, did not respond. He missed a floater, complained to officials, and Austin Reaves took advantage the other way, driving down court for a layup to put the Lakers up by four points.
When the Warriors got the ball back, Klay Thompson missed an open 3-point attempt.
They were bailed out by a travel by James, and Curry finally made the Lakers pay with a corner 3. Davis missed a corner 3. Just like against the Kings, the Warriors had a chance to take the lead down a point.
Once again, they failed. Curry drove, took a long-range, contested step-back and missed. They fouled D'Angelo Russell, who had a revenge game performance with 28 points (8-of-19, 5-of-8 on 3-pt), and hit both of those free throws.
So there was one more chance, down three, to tie it. And Thompson, who was better in the second half (22 points, 8-of-16), finally hit that clutch 3-pointer to tie it at 130 with 5.9 seconds left.
The ball went to James, with Green face-guarding him. Green, who was the the Warriors' heartbeat all game, came through clutch. He forced a James miss, sending everyone to double overtime.
It marked the first double overtime game between the Warriors and Lakers since 1969. Just a bunch of old dudes in double overtime, pretending like it was the good ole days.
Of course, it opened with a contested 3-pointer from James against Wiggins. But the NBA's replay center deemed that James' toe was on the line, making it a two. Curry promptly evened it with a drive and a pair of free throws. They were just his second and third free throws of the game.
Oh, and the free throw discrepancy? The Lakers took 43 free throws and hit 38. The Warriors took 16 and hit 11.
On the other end, Russell continued his torrid streak, hitting from deep. Curry's attempt to respond was short. Then James hit an absurd, turnaround over Brandin Podziemski to put the Lakers up by five.
But the Warriors responded. Even after a 1-of-2 trip to the free throw line from Kuminga, Curry hit a layup, then Thompson hit another clutch 3-pointer to close the gap to a point.
It didn't end there. Golden State forced a turnover. Curry detonated from deep to put the Warriors up a pair.
But of course the Lakers responded. They got Thompson to foul out, who was replaced by Podziemski.
And the Lakers turned it over again. The Warriors had a chance to put them away. Podziemski, with a wide-open 3-pointer, missed it.
Once again, Russell made them pay. He went down the other end and nailed another 3-pointer to put the Lakers up by two.
Curry went down the other end, took another contested, deep two, and the Warriors fouled, sending Reaves to the line. He missed his second, leaving Golden State, again down a pair, with a chance to tie, win, or lose with 12.2 seconds left.
Again. Curry.
(With a monumental screen assist from Green).
But... James.
With 4.7 left, James drove on Green and drew a foul. He sank both. Golden State, with no timeouts left, chucked up a prayer. Another unbelievable loss.