The Warriors still have a winning problem on the road.
The team was feeling good as it boarded the plane for LAX earlier this week, having just completed a 5-0 homestand and with Steph Curry’s imminent return following an 11-game absence. Even with their superstar, they can’t shake off that boogeyman on the road.
Instead of living by the 3-pointer, the Warriors were doomed by it Tuesday, losing 137-128 to the Oklahoma City Thunder to drop their seventh straight road contest. Golden State is now 7-25 on the road compared to 27-7 at Chase Center.
The Thunder dropped 40 points in the first quarter and finished the evening shooting 45.9 percent (17-of-37) from the 3-point line. Warriors coach Steve Kerr fiddled with the starting five, inserting explosive wing Jonathan Kuminga over big man Kevon Looney and guard Jordan Poole, but they found themselves in an early hole once again.
"The slow starts have been really consistent," Kerr said. "We changed the starting lineup tonight. It didn't make any difference. We still fell behind right away and it's tough swimming up stream the rest of the way."
In his second game back from a leg injury, Steph was sublime. He hit 10 3-pointers en route to 40 points and hasn’t shown any rust at all.
Jordan Poole struggled with his shot on the evening (11 points, 4-of-12 shooting) and had to exit the game with 4:47 left after appearing to bang his right knee into a defender. Klay Thompson (23 points, 9-of-17 shooting) and Draymond Green (11 points, 11 assists) put up solid lines but the Warriors once again fell apart in the fourth quarter on the road.
The Warriors trailed by 3 with 11:44 remaining before the Thunder went on a game-winning 14-2 run, going scoreless from the field for nearly four minutes. During that stretch, Kuminga’s two free throws accounted for the only points for the Dubs.
Golden State hasn't been able to pack up its defense for road trips this season and Kerr said it was the root of the team's problems again Tuesday. The Thunder shot 12-of-19 (63.2 percent) in the fourth quarter.
"We were never able to gain any traction defensively," Kerr said. "You give up 137 points, 17 threes and 53 percent shooting, you're not gonna win."
At this point, the Warriors are out of explanations for their home/road splits, which Steph recently called “trash” away from Chase Center. The loss dropped Golden State (34-32) back into the West’s No. 6 seed with 16 games to play.
"It's frustrating. Very frustrating," Kerr said. "We just gotta keep going. We'll watch the tape and move on to Memphis and see what we can do Thursday night."
