SAN FRANCISCO – For six weeks and three days, the same plea to every Warrior on the roster has been leaping off the tongues of Steve Kerr and Draymond Green: We have to get better on defense.
That message reached all necessary ears for at least 12 minutes Friday night.
After ambling through a first quarter typical of so many others this season, allowing the sub-mediocre Chicago Bulls to score 33 points on 62.5-percent shooting from the field, the Warriors summoned the ally that served them so wonderfully in the years when they were devouring the NBA.
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They came out for the second quarter and defended with conviction and purpose – and with a degree of discipline rarely seen through the first 22 games.
Holding the Bulls to 19 points on 34.6-percent shooting in the second quarter, the Warriors generated enough momentum for a 119-111 victory before a sellout crowd (18,064) at Chase Center.
“We made a lot of shots, made 20 3s tonight, but it never felt like a fluid game where we were clicking,” Kerr said. “Take the win, but we need to get better.”
Golden State did plenty of damage to itself, from committing silly fouls, to taking reckless and ill-timed shots, to shooting 65 percent from the line, to giving Chicago 27 points off 20 turnovers. That helped the Bulls trim a 19-point deficit to one with 2:27 remaining.
Golden State Warriors
“It was a little bit of a pickup game out there at times,” Kerr said. “We’ve got to get better. We just have to connect the game for 48 minutes. It felt mindless out there are times.”
But those spirited attempts at self-immolation failed only because that sublime second quarter afforded the Warriors an 11-point halftime cushion that swung the game in their favor.
One big difference was tightening the defense in general but doing so without fouling was crucial. Golden State committed nine fouls in the first quarter, leading to 12 Chicago free throws.
The Warriors were whistled for two fouls in the second quarter, leading to only two free throws by the Bulls, both by backup center Andre Drummond, a notoriously poor foul shooter who came up empty.
“That was the big thing; we stopped fouling,” Kerr said. “Any time we can defend without fouling, we can get stops. We rebounded pretty well, and then the game can speed up and can get into our flow. That was the key in the second quarter.”
The Warriors’ inability to sustain defensive intensity – the Bulls outshot the Warriors 47.1 percent to 42.2 in the second half – but it didn’t cost them on this night.
Draymond, who drained clutch 3-ball to give the Warriors a 113-109 lead with 2:01 remaining, often talks about defense in the regular season being a matter of “building good habits.” For 12 minutes, they did.
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Golden State’s second quarter was such a solid defensive clinic it more than offset the seven turnovers committed on offense during those 12 minutes.
One quarter won’t get it done on most nights, but it was enough to get the Warriors through a game they almost gave back.