LOS ANGELES — Steph Curry laid helpless on the hardwood as the ball slipped from his hands and toward the sideline. Maybe the series and the Dubs Dynasty bounced away with it.
After back-to-back blowouts between the Warriors and Lakers in their second-round playoff series, we finally got some late drama in Monday night’s crucial Game 4. The Warriors trailed by 3 points with 15 seconds left and still had a shot at a late comeback.
Until Draymond Green drove to the hoop and ran into no-man’s land, jumping toward the baseline without place to put the ball. He tried to pass it, but Anthony Davis corralled it, leading to a jump ball. Steph was able to get the ensuing rebound on the tip-off, but he lost control of the ball as he fell to the floor.
Thump-thump-thump the ball went slowly rolling to the sideline, as the Warriors’ last gasp didn’t even feature a field goal attempt. The Lakers held on for a tense 104-101 victory to take a commanding 3-1 series lead and put the Warriors dynasty perhaps on the brink once again.
“It’s a play we’ve run quite a bit before,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Draymond’s late turnover. “There’s three or four different options. We had time for a quick 2, we’re down 3 but we had another timeout left in our pockets. It’s a play where you can get a quick 2 or a 3 if it’s open, we just didn’t execute.”
Even though Steph put together a triple-double with an attacking mindset, his supporting cast continued to struggle. The other two-thirds of the championship trio had some glaring mistakes in the final moments. While Draymond’s late turnover loomed large, so did a pair of late Klay Thompson chucked 3-pointers.
With 2:18 left and the shot clock down under 5 seconds, Klay hoisted a 28-footer that clanked off the rim and backboard badly. After Lakers’ fourth-quarter hero Lonnie Walker IV made a go-ahead bucket at the other end, Klay rimmed out another hastily shot 3-pointer while there were still 14 seconds left on the shot clock.
“Part of who he is, he’s gonna fire away,” Kerr said. “There were a couple late that he would probably like to have back.”
Thompson struggled with his shot all evening and went 3-of-11 from the field for nine points in 41 minutes. This series means so much to Klay, who grew up idolizing Kobe Bryant and going to Lakers games with his dad, a longtime L.A. radio broadcaster. But he fell into the trap of forcing up shots, which Kerr said the Warriors have to live with.
“I trust Klay,” Kerr said. “Think of everything he’s done for this team. … That’s part of who we are as a team. We’re gonna fire. If Steph or Klay gets an opening, we’re gonna let it go. We’ve had a ton of success over the years, obviously.”
Andrew Wiggins (17 points, 6-of-14 shooting) was more aggressive, but he was the only other Warriors player to score more than 15 points. Jordan Poole laid a goose egg – going 0-for-4 with no points, three rebounds and two assists – as his profound playoff struggles continued. Kevon Looney scored four points with three rebounds in 11 minutes and hasn’t been able to dominate the boards like he did against Sacramento.
Steph can’t do it all by his lonesome.
When you think about Curry, you think about the splashes, the shots from the logo, the 3-point prowess. He’s the greatest to ever launch it from beyond the arc. On Monday night, he decided to change up the script and dissect from the inside out.
We had an idea that Steph might be in attack mode entering Game 4. During his meeting with reporters on Sunday after Saturday’s flat 30-point loss, Curry gave a wry smile when revealing that the game plan would be different in Game 4. Kerr used Curry in pick-and-roll situations with a lot more regularity as he finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists on 12-of-30 shooting (3-of-14 from 3-point land). It marked just his third triple-double in 145 career playoff games, alas it was washed away in a loss.
“His effort was incredible,” Kerr said. “Just the stamina, with everything they were throwing at him to do what he did and attack and rebound and distribute the ball – 14 assists and two turnovers. He was amazing, we just couldn’t quite get it done.”
Even Steph got shut down in the final minute, as Lakers big man Anthony Davis played great defense on a possession and force two contested shots -- both misses.
Just like last year in Boston during the NBA Finals, the Warriors faced a 2-1 deficit on the road in a crucial tipping point for the series. Just like last year, Steph tried to put the team on his back. Unlike last year, the Warriors find themselves in a 3-1 hole.
For just the third time in the Kerr era, Golden State trails 3-1 in a playoff series. While they were able to rattle off three straight wins against the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016, the Toronto Raptors closed out the Warriors in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals.
"You definitely use (the experience) as confidence that we can figure this out," Curry said. "Obviously, just focus on taking Game 5 and winning from there. You can't fast forward to the end."
Draymond could opt out of his contract next season and general manager Bob Myers could be on the way out, too. We’ll have to see if Thursday’s game is the last time the championship trio of Steph, Klay and Draymond is on the court together as teammates.
Asked if he's thinking about the big-picture fate of the dynasty, Curry quickly cut off the question and said, "No."
So, just another 3-1 series deficit?
"Yes," Curry said.
