Warriors' defense yet to arrive in uneven start to season

SAN FRANCISCO -- Stephen Curry is off to a prolific scoring start. Andrew Wiggins has been active and productive. James Wiseman is leaping off the bench and giving the Warriors what they want.

The Warriors spent the first week of the championship-defending season trying to piece things together, bit by bit, hoping to stay afloat until the backbone of their dynasty makes an appearance.

That would be defense. Mr. D has yet to make his entrance to the party.

No reason to panic, though, with only three games played and two of them ending in triumph, including a 130-125 win over the Kings on Sunday night at sold-out (18,064) Chase Center.

“All in all, to be where we are, 2-1 and relatively healthy, we’re heading in a good direction,” coach Steve Kerr said.

The one loss, to Denver on Friday night, can be blamed on the defense. The Nuggets rang up 70 points in the half, including 40 in the first quarter. They shot 53.5 percent from the field, including 44.1 percent from distance, coming into Chase and taking a 128-123 victory.

The win over the Kings came perilously close to a second consecutive loss – partly due to the absence of defense in the first half and partly due to the collapse of the offense in the second half.

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The Kings, like the Nuggets, reached the 70-point level in the first half – and added one more to go into the locker room with 71.

The Warriors didn’t fret much because their offense was humming, scoring 89 points in the first half, including 50 in the second quarter.

Most of that 18-point halftime lead was built off the backs of Curry and Wiggins.

Curry scored 28 points in 16 first-half minutes, marking the 62nd time in his career that he scored at least 25 points in either half. He totaled a game-high 33 points, shooting 11-of-22 from the field, including 7-of-12 beyond the arc, while making all four of his free throws. He posted a team-high plus-19 while playing only 31 minutes.

Wiggins pushed the Warriors to a fantastic start, scoring seven of their first 10 points and posting 13 points in nine first-quarter minutes. He finished with 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting, adding five rebounds, three steals -- including a theft with 10 seconds remaining to finally put away the Kings.

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Much of the terrific work that Curry and Wiggins manufactured was threatened by a second half in which Golden State was outscored 54-41.

“The ball just stopped moving,” Kerr said. We had 24 assists in the game, eight in the second half. The ball completely stopped moving. Not just during the stretch when we were giving up the lead but throughout the third quarter, it was just one pass (and shoot).

“Everything that happens during the game contributes to what happens later on. We had several bad possessions, even with our first unit, that set a bad tone.”

The Warriors on opening night gave up 109 points to a Lakers team that can’t shoot. Denver’s 128 points sounded the alarm, telling the Warriors their defense is not close to where it needs to be.

The uneven performance against the Kings is indicative of the real truth, which is that the Warriors are searching for their best selves. It’s not fair to expect them to find it in the first month.

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