DiVincenzo's ‘play like the freaking Warriors' plea on target

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Until the Warriors know the extent of the injury to Stephen Curry’s left shoulder, which will undergo an MRI test on Thursday, they can’t begin to know when he might be back on the court.

They have no idea when Andrew Wiggins, who missed the last five games with right adductor tightness, will be cleared to practice, much suit up for a game.

What the defending champions do know is that four days after their most impressive victory of this wildly inconsistent season, they have relapsed into some of their worst habits.

Shoddy and pliant defense, rife with game-plan deviation, casual indifference failure to recognize strengths and weaknesses of opposing personnel. Turnovers, resulting mostly from high-risk passes seeking moderate reward and rhythm-stifling dribbling into traffic.

All those liabilities were on display in the first half Wednesday against the Pacers, and a second-half rally couldn’t prevent a 125-119 loss.

“We needed more energy,” reserve guard Donte DiVincenzo told reporters in Indianapolis. “When things aren’t going our way, when calls aren’t going our way, there’s a standard playing for the Golden State Warriors. The biggest message is we’ve got to play like the freaking Warriors.”

If that sounds like a plea, well, it is.

Curry joined the Wiggins on the unavailable list when he injured his shoulder while reaching for the ball cradled by Indiana big man Jalen Smith. Wiggins was in street clothes, as was Klay Thompson, resting on the second night of a back-to-back set.

The Warriors delivered one half of basketball that followed their general script. They won the second half 65-51 because they tightened up the defense, reduced the harmful turnovers, took smarter shots and, most of all, played from the heart.

“That’s the biggest thing,” DiVincenzo said. “We have to have that energy, and when we came out in the second half, we really started that second half playing the brand of basketball that we should be playing. The energy was good, and the spirit was good.”

With Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, JaMychal Green and Jordan Poole and DiVincenzo doing most of the heavy lifting, the Warriors played with an intelligence and determination often missing in the first half.

And, to be frank, that mix of passion and sound technique has been absent for much of the first eight weeks of the season. And it has been costly. It’s why the Warriors have yet to string together more than three consecutive victories, why their record is 14-15 and why they have been unable to escape the grip of mediocrity.

With two starters unavailable and a third, Curry, leaving late in the third quarter, the rotations were completely out of sorts. The intention and disposition, however, were unified.

“I don’t think it was necessarily about the rotation or who was on the court; it was that spirit thing,” DiVincenzo said. “That energy. That was the message for those guys checking into the game. When Moses and JK came in the game, they brought great energy. We got a few stops, and we got the ball rolling. We’ve just got to close it out at the end.”

The Warriors pulled within three, trailing 122-119, after a 3-ball by DiVincenzo with 1:25 remaining, before missing shots on their final two possessions.

“I like the way our guys competed together in that second half,” said coach Steve Kerr, who like everyone else was clearly displeased with a first half that included a 47-point second quarter for the Pacers.

“Times like this are a test for your team and your resilience,” Moody said. “To see stuff going the wrong way, and you could either start pointing fingers and get down, or you could have what it takes to fight back.”

The Warriors dug in and fought back. They played with the verve similar to that which was behind their remarkable 2022 postseason which came after an ordinary second half of the regular season.

Climbing back above .500 on this road trip will be difficult. Next up are the Philadelphia 76ers, with MVP candidate Joel Embiid. Then come the Raptors in Toronto, the Knicks in New York and the rampaging Nets in Brooklyn.

At this point, the immediate future of the Warriors is less about who will be on the court than how they approach the game.

“Getting Klay back is going to be great,” DiVincenzo said. “But, ultimately, just that movement. Swinging the ball. Passing the ball when we want to pass it and not just when we have to.

“But stay aggressive. Not just look to pass the whole time, and for Klay or look for Jordan.  Everybody be aggressive and move that (ball) as much as possible to get the defense scrambling.”

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In short, the offense that has won seven consecutive games when posting more than 30 dimes – not the offense that has lost seven of eight when failing to top 30.

And the defense that actually shows up, as it last did on Saturday, when it was at the center of a win over the powerhouse Celtics.

Anything less means, well, more of what happened Tuesday in in defeat at Milwaukee or in the first half in Indianapolis.

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