SAN FRANCISCO — The talking point around the Warriors over the past two days has been about how their young players can better play around Steph Curry.
But against the Pacers on Monday, they weren’t the problem. Curry was.
Head coach Steve Kerr directed pointed comments toward Jonathan Kuminga and others about passing the ball and avoiding bad shots. That message, at least on Monday, was received.
Kuminga (26 points, eight rebounds) led the game in scoring and played the kind of under-control, smart basketball Kerr has sought. Brandin Podziemski played with excellent energy and filled in gaps on both ends. Trayce Jackson-Davis feasted in the paint.
“This is the JK we want,” Kerr said postgame. “Spent a lot of time in the paint, took care of the ball, had a couple really nice passes. This is a great example of how JK needs to play. I’m really proud of him for coming out and playing that way. He’s getting better and it’s fun to watch his development.”
But Curry played passively, attempting only four shots in the first half. When the Warriors needed him to take over the fourth, he couldn’t snatch a rhythm out of thin air.
Curry finished with 10 points on 2-for-13 shooting in a 111-105 defeat. After beating the Timberwolves in what Kerr thought may have been a breakthrough during a brutal losing skid, the Warriors (15-13) couldn’t pull out a winnable game and have now lost 10 of their last 13 contests.
“I’ve got to play better, and I will,” Curry said postgame. “But I think as a whole, we’ve just got to maintain our confidence in what we’re doing, not have those little spurts where we give a team life.”
The Warriors weathered four turnovers in the first five minutes to stay in lockstep with the speedy Pacers. Trayce Jackson-Davis, who started the season on a bizarre finishing slump, slammed down four early dunks. He’d erupted for a 15-point, nine-rebound performance against Minnesota, suggesting he has rediscovered his touch around the rim.
Kuminga, the subject of much recent ire, provided a major boost off the bench. Instead of the tough midrange shots Steve Kerr has taken exception to, Kuminga got to the basket and made the right plays.
“Things go in, I look good,” Kuminga said at his locker postgame. “Things don’t go in, I look bad. There’s no in between.”
On a short-roll catch, Kuminga found Buddy Hield for a corner 3. He beat his man off the dribble for a lefty layup, finished a crazy and-1 tip shot off a lob, kept a possession alive with an offensive rebound and laid in another bucket off a nice cut. Everything clicked when the Warriors played Kuminga at the four next to Draymond Green in a small-ball lineup to start the second quarter; in that setup, he could patrol the dunker spot and act as a diver.
Kuminga crashed down to the paint defensively, pushed the pace and found Moses Moody for a 3. Then he played pitter-patter inside with Green for a dunk, cementing a 14-4 run in which he scored or assisted on 12 Warriors points.
Because Indiana doesn’t have a traditional back-to-the-basket center, it was much easier for the Warriors to play Green at center for long stretches. They closed the half with that look, but it was much less successful the second time around. Indiana got hot offensively, blitzing the Warriors for a 12-3 run.
Kuminga subbed back in two minutes into the second quarter for Green, who headed to the locker room. He returned to the bench six game minutes later, but didn’t check back in until the fourth quarter.
Without Green, Golden State’s defense struggled to get stops. TJ McConnell sank three 3-pointers from the same corner — matching his made 3s total entering Monday — and Indiana built a 12-point lead.
But Curry, who missed his first five field goal attempts, drilled a deep 3 and Hield cleaned up another miss for a putback for a 7-0 run entering the fourth quarter.
Two games before Monday, Curry had one of the worst games of his career — a two-point, 0-for-7 dud against Memphis. Like Jaylen Wells did for Memphis, Andrew Nembhard exerted a ton of energy blanketing Curry defensively. Indiana also blitzed Curry off screens, forcing him to be a passer.
“Being defended a certain way, but it’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” Curry said. “You’ve got to understand when to pick and choose your spots based on the attention you get, get the ball moving, try to find a rhythm a little earlier. That might be a little bit of an adjustment, but it’s something I’ve been through.”
Back-to-back buckets from Wiggins tied the game at 89 less than a minute into the final frame. Podziemski stripped McConnell and drew a charge against Pascal Siakam.
When Kuminga returned, he canned a corner 3 — off an on-time Podziemski kickout — and earned free throws by keeping a play alive with two offensive rebounds. The fourth quarter is Curry’s but even he can’t do it alone.
Kuminga skied for another offensive rebound and second-chance layup to cross the 20-point threshold.
Curry entered into a tied game for his final stint. Down three with as many minutes left, he missed a clean look from above the break. At that point, he was 2-for-12 from the field.
To inch within two, Curry found Dennis Schroder in the dunker spot for his eighth assist. But when he backpedaled into the corner for a step-back 3, his shot fell short, and Myles Turner hit the dagger 3 on the other end.
The Warriors, constantly in close games, are now 8-10 in clutch games this year. Earlier in this season, when the Warriors started 12-3, Curry put on his cape in fourth quarters. It must’ve been at the dry cleaner’s for the holidays on Monday night.
“I missed two big shots — one to tie, one to try to take the lead,” Curry said. “Shots that I pride myself on. Got to make those.”
