SACRAMENTO -- The Warriors' steady start was nothing more than deception and a frustrating mirage Sunday night in their 122-115 loss to the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center.
In what felt like a home game at times, the Warriors had the road crowd on its feet in the first quarter. For good reason, too. They went into the second quarter with a 39-26 lead, shooting over 60 percent from the field and better than 54 percent from beyond the arc. Everything flipped starting in the second quarter.
Steph Curry couldn't give the Warriors a third straight 40-point performance, dropping 27 in the loss. Andrew Wiggins was right behind with 26 points, and Klay Thompson gave Golden State 17. He still has only one 20-point game this season.
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Turnovers were the story of the Warriors' loss. They entered the night averaging 15.8 turnovers per game, which is the sixth-worst in the NBA. In the loss, the Warriors handed 18 turnovers to the Kings, resulting in 26 points.
That was the game, simple as that.
Here are three takeaways from a loss that dropped the Warriors to 5-8 on the season and 0-7 on the road.
Second Quarter To Forget
Golden State Warriors
Whether it's seconds or minutes, the Warriors are a completely different team with Steph sitting on the bench. He was sidelined for four minutes in the second quarter, and that was enough to factor into the Warriors losing a 15-point lead and trailing by two going into halftime.
In that ugly second quarter, the Warriors' early-season issues showed up. They fouled the Kings eight times, leading to 11 free throws and eight Sacramento points at the charity stripe. Turning the ball over eight times certainly doesn't help either.
Though the Warriors made seven of their nine 2-point shots in the quarter, they settled for tries from downtown early in the shot clock far too often. And those shots weren't falling. As a team, the Warriors went 2-for-10 on 3-point attempts during the second-quarter collapse.
Instead of holding the ball for the last shot of the half, Thompson chucked up a stepback three with eight seconds left. Luckily for him and the Warriors, Andrew Wiggins flew in for a left-handed putback dunk.
But the turnovers never stopped, and the Kings were the smarter team for four quarters.
He's Heating Up
Two nights after scoring 18 points with four 3-pointers, Jordan Poole showed more signs of the Sixth Man turning the corner. He didn't need any extra dribbles. He didn't have to showcase all the razzle-dazzle to his game.
Poole was aggressive and decisive. That made all the difference in the world. So did a change to Steve Kerr's rotation.
For the second straight game when Poole first came off the bench, he replaced center Kevon Looney instead of Klay Thompson. What might seem like a small adjustment, literally and figuratively, produced big results. Poole consistently has started slowly in the first quarter. Not this time.
Playing six minutes in the first frame, Poole scored nine points. He went 3-for-5 from the field to open the game, and made two 3-pointers. His second had Steph hyped, too.
Overall, Poole played 20 minutes and again scored 18 points. The downside was his four turnovers, and the fact that Kerr couldn't trust his defense when it mattered most.
No Answers
Tyrese Haliburton is a subject of debate for both Kings and Warriors fans. A portion of Dub Nation wishes the Warriors drafted the skilled combo guard. A portion of Kings fans wish he wasn't traded to the Indiana Pacers.
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Domantas Sabonis showed why the Kings coveted him against the Warriors.
He was nothing short of dominant vs. the defending champions. Sabonis scored 26 points, going 10-for-17 as a shooter. His rebounding was even more eye-opening.
The Kings came away with 45 rebounds, two more than the Warriors. Sabonis was responsible for nearly half of those. The big man grabbed 22 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass. He also almost had a triple-double with eight assists.
Kerr and the rest of the Warriors' coaching staff will be searching for positives. The fact that they only have to see Sabonis once more this season might be the biggest of the night.