ducks
01-22-2004, 02:07 PM
Warriors crash and burn in final minutes
By Matt Steinmetz, CONTRA COSTA TIMES
LOS ANGELES - Everything came so easily for the Warriors for most of the night. That's why the loss -- their 11th consecutive defeat on the road -- was so hard to take.
On the verge of ending the first half of their season on a positive note Wednesday night, the Warriors completely broke down in the game's final five minutes and went down 106-102 to the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center.
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The Warriors (17-24), halfway through their schedule, haven't won away from the Arena in Oakland since a 98-85 win over Atlanta on Dec. 17. But of all the losses since then, this was the most salty.
"I don't think we pay too much attention to it," power forward Clifford Robinson said of the road losing streak. "Then again, at the same time, we know we haven't won a road game in a while. I'm sure guys are aware of that."
The Warriors, who led by 14 points in the first half and by 12 points late in the third quarter, still were comfortably ahead, 95-88, with 51/2 minutes remaining. But the Clippers (17-22) scored on each of their next seven possessions, while the Warriors scored on just one.
Lo and behold, what had seemed like a certain victory had turned into defeat. The Warriors put together their highest-scoring first half of the season, running out to a 65-54 lead at the break. They had 80 points midway through the third period. But that's when things started to get difficult.
"Part of it was us shooting the ball well, having great spacing and their playing poor defense," small forward Mike Dunleavy said. "They buckled down on defense, and our spacing wasn't good. And that's why the difference."
The Clippers' Matt Barnes, who made his NBA debut on Monday, scored 13 points, including a couple of killers late. His driving bucket in the lane cut the Warriors' lead to 95-92 with four minutes, 26 seconds remaining; he followed his own miss to give the Clippers a 97-95 lead with 3:08 left; and he had another putback with two minutes left that made it 100-95.
Said Warriors coach Eric Musselman: "Matt Barnes changed the whole complexion of the game."
While the Clippers made their push, the Warriors offense got more and more bogged down. When the Warriors weren't stagnating, they were turning the ball over. After turning it over just four times in the first half, they finished the game with 17.
"We got more and more tired as the game went on," said Musselman, whose team will try to snap its road losing streak tonight in Seattle. "We had a lack of depth."
Musselman said he couldn't use Brian Cardinal as much as he would have liked because Cardinal is weak physically, having lost eight pounds since his bout with the flu. Backup swingman Calbert Cheaney sprained his right ankle late in the third quarter and did not return.
Musselman and several players said the Clippers' 25 offensive rebounds were a factor in the loss. But Los Angeles had only a 25-18 edge on second-chance points, and in the fourth quarter they had only six points after securing offensive rebounds.
"We were scoring in a lot of ways," said Warriors point guard Speedy Claxton, who wreaked offensive havoc in the first half. "But we had a slump and they got hot and it changed the game. They picked up their defensive intensity."
Jason Richardson led the Warriors with 28 points and 10 rebounds. Quentin Richardson had 25 points for the Clippers.
"I told the guys at halftime, ultimately if they didn't defend, they would be gone," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. said. "We need to lead with our defense. If guys don't start defending, they start sitting. Give me guys like Matt Barnes, who come in and play hard and with a lot of energy, and I'll take my chances."
NOTES: Warriors special assistant Chris Mullin has been scouting overseas for the past week. He was accompanied by Walnut-Creek based agent Bill Duffy, who has more than 50 clients in Europe. ... Warriors general manager Garry St. Jean accompanied the team to Los Angeles. ... After the Warriors drafted Dunleavy in June 2002, there was speculation that his father might get the head coaching job which was open at the time. Dunleavy Sr. said at the time that he would be harder on his son than any of the other players. Dunleavy was asked before Wednesday's game whether he would have been harder on his son than Musselman has been. "I can't answer that question until I coach him," Dunleavy Sr. said. "I'm not there on a daily basis to talk about how his coach coaches him."
By Matt Steinmetz, CONTRA COSTA TIMES
LOS ANGELES - Everything came so easily for the Warriors for most of the night. That's why the loss -- their 11th consecutive defeat on the road -- was so hard to take.
On the verge of ending the first half of their season on a positive note Wednesday night, the Warriors completely broke down in the game's final five minutes and went down 106-102 to the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Warriors (17-24), halfway through their schedule, haven't won away from the Arena in Oakland since a 98-85 win over Atlanta on Dec. 17. But of all the losses since then, this was the most salty.
"I don't think we pay too much attention to it," power forward Clifford Robinson said of the road losing streak. "Then again, at the same time, we know we haven't won a road game in a while. I'm sure guys are aware of that."
The Warriors, who led by 14 points in the first half and by 12 points late in the third quarter, still were comfortably ahead, 95-88, with 51/2 minutes remaining. But the Clippers (17-22) scored on each of their next seven possessions, while the Warriors scored on just one.
Lo and behold, what had seemed like a certain victory had turned into defeat. The Warriors put together their highest-scoring first half of the season, running out to a 65-54 lead at the break. They had 80 points midway through the third period. But that's when things started to get difficult.
"Part of it was us shooting the ball well, having great spacing and their playing poor defense," small forward Mike Dunleavy said. "They buckled down on defense, and our spacing wasn't good. And that's why the difference."
The Clippers' Matt Barnes, who made his NBA debut on Monday, scored 13 points, including a couple of killers late. His driving bucket in the lane cut the Warriors' lead to 95-92 with four minutes, 26 seconds remaining; he followed his own miss to give the Clippers a 97-95 lead with 3:08 left; and he had another putback with two minutes left that made it 100-95.
Said Warriors coach Eric Musselman: "Matt Barnes changed the whole complexion of the game."
While the Clippers made their push, the Warriors offense got more and more bogged down. When the Warriors weren't stagnating, they were turning the ball over. After turning it over just four times in the first half, they finished the game with 17.
"We got more and more tired as the game went on," said Musselman, whose team will try to snap its road losing streak tonight in Seattle. "We had a lack of depth."
Musselman said he couldn't use Brian Cardinal as much as he would have liked because Cardinal is weak physically, having lost eight pounds since his bout with the flu. Backup swingman Calbert Cheaney sprained his right ankle late in the third quarter and did not return.
Musselman and several players said the Clippers' 25 offensive rebounds were a factor in the loss. But Los Angeles had only a 25-18 edge on second-chance points, and in the fourth quarter they had only six points after securing offensive rebounds.
"We were scoring in a lot of ways," said Warriors point guard Speedy Claxton, who wreaked offensive havoc in the first half. "But we had a slump and they got hot and it changed the game. They picked up their defensive intensity."
Jason Richardson led the Warriors with 28 points and 10 rebounds. Quentin Richardson had 25 points for the Clippers.
"I told the guys at halftime, ultimately if they didn't defend, they would be gone," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. said. "We need to lead with our defense. If guys don't start defending, they start sitting. Give me guys like Matt Barnes, who come in and play hard and with a lot of energy, and I'll take my chances."
NOTES: Warriors special assistant Chris Mullin has been scouting overseas for the past week. He was accompanied by Walnut-Creek based agent Bill Duffy, who has more than 50 clients in Europe. ... Warriors general manager Garry St. Jean accompanied the team to Los Angeles. ... After the Warriors drafted Dunleavy in June 2002, there was speculation that his father might get the head coaching job which was open at the time. Dunleavy Sr. said at the time that he would be harder on his son than any of the other players. Dunleavy was asked before Wednesday's game whether he would have been harder on his son than Musselman has been. "I can't answer that question until I coach him," Dunleavy Sr. said. "I'm not there on a daily basis to talk about how his coach coaches him."