What we learned as Warriors suffer tough loss to Knicks

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SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors spent most of Thursday night looking like a team on the second night of a back-to-back set, which they were. There was a lot of flat-footed moments on defense and the usual bruising on the glass.

But, trailing for most of the second half and feeling defeat closing in, they found a reservoir of energy over the final seven minutes, making a stirring comeback that was not enough avoid a 116-114 loss to the Knicks before a sellout crowd (18,064) at Chase Center.

The Warriors (41-15) had two chances to tie the game inside the final minute, but Stephen Curry’s driving floater rolled around and off the rim and Klay Thompson’s jumped bounce out at the buzzer.

Klay missed the potential game-tying jumper at the buzzer 💔 pic.twitter.com/oEa81teWi2

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) February 11, 2022

Here are three observations from Golden State’s second loss in a row:

Rebounding woes continue

After outrebounding their opponents by an average of 6.4 per game over an eight-game stretch, the Warriors over the last three have gotten destroyed on the glass.

They were minus-13 on Thursday, following a minus-17 Wednesday at Utah and a minus-10 Monday at Oklahoma City.

The problem has been addressed in practices, during video study and in one-on-one sessions. And, still, it lingers.

Kevon Looney tackles the job with gusto, but he hasn’t gotten much help from his hyper-athletic forwards. Starting small forward Andrew Wiggins was better, coming away with seven rebounds in 36 minutes, but starting power forward Jonathan Kuminga pulled only five in 36 minutes. Knicks power forward Julius Randle snagged 16.

The Warriors won two of the three games despite the rebounding deficit by summoning spells of tremendous defense. Is this sustainable? Probably not.

The Beli conundrum

Nemanja Bjelica returned to action after a six-game absence due to back stiffness. He was a welcome sight for a team desperate for someone who can give Kevon Looney a break in the middle.

But Beli was ineffective. Again.

He scored two points, shooting 1-of-5 from the field and 0-of-2 from distance. He grabbed four rebounds, recording three assists and giving up turnover. He was minus-11 over 19 minutes.

The temptation is to blame rust, but Beli’s performance on this night was similar to many others over the past couple months. After a promising solid first few weeks, he has been mostly ordinary aside from the occasional nifty pass.

Yet he has to chew up minutes, at least until James Wiseman is cleared for games.

Curry’s production goes for naught

Curry spent the first quarter as a playmaker, a role he has embraced in the absence of Draymond Green. That got him four assists, but overall results were mixed and the Warriors trailed by five.

So, Curry turned on his scoring machine in the second quarter, scoring 17 points in 11 minutes, shooting 4-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-8 from distance and 6-of-6 from the line.

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That seemed to pump some life into the entire offense, as the Warriors outscored New York 34-24 in the quarter.

Curry totaled a game-high 35 points on 11-of-25 shooting, including 5-of-16 from beyond the arc and 8-of-8 from the line. He added 10 assists.

He finished, as did the team, three points from victory.

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