The Warriors came to Georgia on Friday hoping to get a bounce in momentum after their sizzling performance two days earlier in Miami.
They did, only briefly, but it didn’t last.
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Though the Warriors led by as much as 11 in the first half, they couldn’t hold on and ended up with a 121-110 loss to the Hawks at State Farm Arena.
Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole combined for 61 points but got little scoring help from their teammates, as Gary Payton II, with 12 points off the bench, was the only other Warriors (48-26) to reach double figures.
Here are three observations from a game that left the Warriors with a 1-2 record three games into their five-game road trip.
Defense opens door to defeat
Golden State Warriors
Even as the Warriors rolled up 42 points in the first quarter and 67 in the half, they never created separation for very long.
That’s because the Hawks scored 69 in the first half. And it’s not surprising.
With few exceptions, the Warriors have spent the better part of two months playing mediocre or worse defense. The coaches plead for better. The players acknowledge the need for better. And, still, it’s nowhere near where it was in the first half of the season.
The Hawks got open or wide-open looks on a full one-third of their possessions. They shot 60 percent in the first half and then, when Golden State’s offense when into a coma in the third quarter, buried enough shots to take a 32-16 advantage in the quarter and force the Warriors into another night of playing catch-up down the stretch.
Much of what’s missing is easily repaired but hasn’t been. They still make such careless mental errors as overhelping off shooters in the corners. They still have trouble, up and down the roster, staying in front of the ball.
Until the defense gets better, they will struggle more often than impress.
Klay Thompson responds
Benching Thompson was the barber-shop advice dispensed by some of the restless pockets of Dub Nation as Klay muddled through a four-game stretch missing too many shots, hijacking too many possessions and hurting the team.
That was never going to happen, for a variety of reasons, one of which was on display in this game. His offense can carry the team for significant stretches.
For the Warriors to have any chance of making noise in the playoffs, they need Klay to be decent on defense and good on offense. He was decent and exceptional and, therefore, indispensable.
Thompson’s 22-point first half – on 8-of-11 shooting, including 6-of-8 from deep – brought balance to the offense and took some of the weight off Poole. It allowed the Warriors to stay afloat even as Andrew Wiggins went into hiding.
Klay’s game-high 37 points came on 14-of-26 shooting, including 9-of-16 from deep. He is going to have games good, great and awful. Consistency is the biggest challenge for a player following a multiyear layoff. Klay is a starter. He’s going to stay a starter. And he should.
The Looney-Kuminga switch
Kevon Looney started the first 73 games this season. He did not start Game No. 74, as Warriors coach Steve Kerr decided earlier in the day to try a different starting center.
Seeking more offense and inside athleticism, he went with rookie Jonathan Kuminga.
Kuminga, playing up front alongside Draymond Green, played one of his least productive games of late. Averaging 14.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game since January, he finished with four points and four rebounds and was minus-13 in 14 minutes.
The spectacular moments that have come so frequently did not appear.
Looney, however, submitted a solid game, with eight points, eight rebounds and three assists. He was plus-11 over 24 minutes off the bench.
Upshot: Results were mixed, hardly enough to suggest this was a stroke of genius or a misguided idea.