INDIANAPOLIS — Mike Dunleavy and the Warriors built enough depth in the offseason to withstand injuries, at least on paper. But if you showed anyone in Golden State’s front office their active roster on Friday night, they may have wondered if there was a new infectious disease ravaging their locker room.
Golden State started Dennis Schroder, Lindy Waters III, Buddy Hield, Kyle Anderson and Trayce Jackson-Davis. The Warriors activated two-way Quinten Post as a 10th player and involved both Gui Santos and Pat Spencer in the game plan.
With that kind of personnel, they needed a miracle.
Steph Curry and Draymond Green sat, as the Warriors handle the veterans with caution on the second night of a back-to-back. Andrew Wiggins is home for personal reasons (though his absence isn’t expected to be long). Jonathan Kuminga is out for at least two more weeks with a bad ankle sprain, and Brandin Podziemski is still dealing with an abdominal strain.
Golden State hung around for three quarters, but got run off the floor when the Pacers locked in for the fourth. Admirable effort alone wasn’t enough for the Warriors in the 108-96 loss.
Spencer impressed with a career-high 17 points off the bench, and Hield matched him. But they were no match for the Pacers’ All-Star caliber trio of Tyrese Haliburton (25 points, 10 assists), Pascal Siakam (25 points, 11 rebounds) and Myles Turner (11 points, seven rebounds, three blocks). After splitting the first half of their four-game road trip, the Warriors (19-19) are back at .500.
For a second straight night, Santos provided a lift off the bench. He hustled back on defense for a back-tap steal, made several smart cuts off the ball and swarmed in defensive rotations.
Spencer, too, made an impact. The other Warrior typically sitting on the end of the bench, Spencer scored seven quick points, setting his overall career high in the first quarter alone.
But feel-good contributions aren’t nearly enough to beat a rock-solid team like the Pacers. Indiana had won 10 of its last 13 games entering Friday night, turning the corner after a slow start to the season.
The Warriors racked up deflections, offensive rebounds and forced turnovers. They had a lot of hustle points, but not a lot of scoreboard points. In fact, they went a seven-minute stretch with just two points, allowing Indiana to stretch its lead to 14. But Golden State chipped away in the last three minutes to enter halftime down five.
Even after a scoreless 4:30 in the third quarter, the Warriors hung around. Hield scored back-to-back buckets and Santos canned a wing 3. Post drew the defense’s attention as a screener in his first action outside garbage time this season. Early in the fourth, the rookie and Schroder worked a two-man game for his first career 3-pointer.
With a quick burst, though, Indiana finally separated. Pascal Siakam broke away for consecutive dunks — one off a Schroder turnover and another after Schroder got stuffed at the rim. On the first turnover, Schroder appeared to twist his ankle.
Those dunks were part of an 8-0 Indiana blitz that put the Pacers up 13, and it stayed comfortable the rest of the way. The Warriors had hung tough and they played with pride, but the talent disparity was too drastic.