SAN FRANCISCO – After playing well most of the night, the Warriors went cold late in the fourth quarter and fell short in a 125-122 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday at Chase Center that saw Stephen Curry leave the match without returning. after injuring his right ankle.
With about four minutes left in the fourth quarter, Curry caught a pass in the lane that caused him to land awkwardly on his right ankle, limping off the court before heading straight to the Warriors’ locker room.
Klay Thompson scored 25 points and made five 3-pointers off the bench, but the Warriors couldn’t maintain the momentum they had built the night before when they knocked off the No. 2 team in the Eastern Conference, the Milwaukee Bucks.
Jonathan Kuminga had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Stephen Curry and Chris Paul each scored 15, while Draymond Green had a triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.
Brandin Podziemski also scored 11, but missed a crucial layup with six seconds remaining as the Warriors trailed 122-119.
The Warriors cut the Bulls’ lead to 123-122 after Paul made a 3-pointer with four seconds left. Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan responded with a pair of free throws to put the Bulls back in front 125-122 before Lester Quinones fired an aerial ball from midcourt as time expired.
It was a crushing defeat for the Warriors, who found themselves tied with the Lakers for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.
Golden State (33-24) entered the day in very good shape after a 35-point victory against the Bucks, but could not continue that momentum.
The loss was just the Warriors’ fifth loss in their last 18 games.
Curry struggled with his shooting most of the night. He was held to five points in the first half and finished the night 5 of 18 overall and 3 of 12 from beyond the arc.
Here are the takeaways from Thursday’s game:
Moody sparked a late run
Moody made a handful of plays midway through the fourth quarter that helped swing the momentum in Golden State’s favor while getting the Chase Center crowd on its feet.
Moody grabbed a few rebounds, hit two free throws, then took a pass from Trayce Jackson-Davis and scored on a layup as the Warriors erased a seven-point deficit. TJD and Moody connected again later in the fourth for a bucket that gave Golden State a 108-107 advantage.
There seems to be a different energy when Moody is on the court, and it will be interesting to see how much Kerr leans on him down the stretch.
Klay crushes it
The Warriors were a little slow out of the gates, but not Thompson. He came off the bench midway through the first quarter and made his first three 3-pointers, keeping Golden State afloat until the rest of the offense got going.
Much has been made about Thompson having to adjust to his role as sixth man, but not enough has been said about how the five-time All-Star handled it. He didn’t do much publicly about the transition and accepted the decision, which sent a clear message to the rest of his teammates that he had to put the team’s needs ahead of his personal desires.
Thompson proved he could still be effective as a starter, but his shooting added another dimension to an already strong second unit for the Dubs. Like its glory days, Golden State’s bench has been solid for most of the season and has been better with Thompson involved.
Podz keeps pushing
As he has been all season, Brandin Podziemski was a ball of energy against the Bulls while doing a little bit of everything.
Brimming with a confidence that seems to ooze from his pores, Podz has come up with another one of his patented all-around games. Now a solid piece in Golden State’s starting lineup, the rookie guard showed no fear as he drove straight into the heart of Chicago’s defense, repeatedly cutting through heavy traffic in the paint and giving the Bulls problems .
Even though he missed a chance to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, Podz was still a master at doing the little things. He shot 4 of 7 and had four rebounds, four assists and a steal to finish plus-seven.
He’s clearly still a work in progress, but in every game, there’s no denying that Podz leaves it all on the field. He has a high basketball IQ that sets him apart from many other NBA rookies, and his willingness to continue learning will be a great advantage as he continues his development.
Download and follow the Dubs Talk podcast
