As the season begins to wind down, the Golden State Warriors need to find a way to win basketball games. Plain and simple. They are in the middle of a brutal Western Conference Playoff race, and a bad week could see them plummet into the depths of the Play-In Tournament.
On Sunday night, they just couldn’t get the job done, losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Down two points, Jordan Poole committed a turnover with roughly 10 seconds left in the game, ruining the Warriors’ chance to tie the game or take the lead.
When asked about how the Warriors stay confident in Poole despite some of his late-game mishaps, Klay Thompson pointed to last year’s championship logo and sent a simple message.
“Right there. That’s all. He was a huge part of that. People tend to forget that,” Thompson said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel.
When he’s at his best, Poole is an All-Star-caliber player. The Warriors need him if they want to make any sort of noise in the playoffs this year, but on Sunday night, he made a costly mistake.
Despite that, Poole still put up solid numbers against Minnesota. He finished the game with 27 points (a game-high), four rebounds, two assists, and two steals on 8-of-16 shooting from the field and 3-of-8 shooting from behind the three-point line.
As for Thompson, he struggled with his efficiency against the Timberwolves. He ended the night with 15 points, four rebounds, and two assists on 5-of-17 shooting from the floor and 5-of-11 shooting from deep.’
Steve Kerr Calls Out Warriors Mistakes
Poole wasn’t the only one to commit a late-game turnover, however, as five of Golden State’s 16 giveaways came in the final frame. After the game, head coach Steve Kerr called them out for the mistakes while also admitting that he needs to be better, too.
“I don’t need to rank them (the turnovers). They all hurt,” Kerr said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel.” We got to close the game. We got to execute down the stretch. And I got to help them. I got to do a better job myself in helping them to execute. But disappointing because we fought back and gave ourselves a chance to win. Had the ball with the lead late. I thought couple of possessions in those last two minutes just hurt us, and they hit the big shot.”
Gary Payton II Discusses Warriors Return
On a more positive note, Gary Payton II made his return to the Warriors against the Timberwolves after missing a large chunk of time due to injury. After the game, he spoke about how it felt.
“Good. I felt like I was out there shorter than I was, but 16 minutes. Felt good, though,” Payton said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “There were a lot of gaps in there, so [I was] able to go get my breath back after whistles and calls.”
He also sent a loving message to Dub Nation.
“I didn’t have any [expectations],” Payton said of his return game. “I already knew it was love since I’ve been back from Dub Nation. So, it was just a nice welcome home. But you know I mess with Dub Nation like that. So, it’s all love.”