Getty Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors were finally able to snap an 11-game road-losing-streak on Monday, beating the Houston Rockets 121-108. However, the path to victory wasn’t necessarily a smooth one for the Dubs.
They turned the ball over a ton in the first half, gifting the Rockets 12 free possessions.
Star forward Draymond Green wasn’t happy about his team’s focus early on, especially with how terrible they’ve been on the road this season.
He called the team’s first-half focus level “pathetic” when speaking to reporters after the win.
“Our focus level was pathetic to start the game,” Green said via NBC Sports Bay Area. “We were coming into a game like this. You know, it’s a young athletic team like this they’re going to be in passing lanes and we were careless with the ball. We were able to lock in. Coach challenged us coming out of the half and we were able to lock in, after those first couple minutes of the third quarter. I think we turned it over what, five or six times there in the second half? Two or three of them came in the first few minutes of the third quarter. So, I thought we did a pretty good job of cleaning it up after a while.”
Draymond says the Warriors’ focus in the first half was “pathetic”
Green had himself a solid night in H-Town. He scored 8 points on a perfect 4-4 shooting performance. The former Defensive Player of the Year also dished 7 assists and secured 7 rebounds.
Warriors’ Draymond Green Discusses Stephen Curry Injury Scare
Golden State’s sloppy first half wasn’t the only talking point during Green’s postgame press conference. The 33-year-old also discussed the slight injury scare he and his teammates got when Stephen Curry had to go back to the locker room Monday.
“I mean, you always hold your breath,” Green said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “You just never really know how serious it is when someone comes up hopping. Especially him. We can’t afford to lose him. So, you definitely hold your breath, but you also know that he’s very tough. And if it’s something that he can get through, he’ll keep going.”
Stephen Curry Sounds Off on Warriors’ Shift vs. Rockets
Green wasn’t the only one who had some things to say about Golden State’s carless first half. Curry made sure he addressed the issue as well. Plus, he praised the way that his team turned things around out of the break.
“Having 14 turnovers in the first half was rough,” Curry said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “We could never really create enough separation. And then [in the] second half, we were a little bit more mindful. I think we only had four turnovers and got decent shots. We didn’t make as many as we wanted to, but we got stops. Ran in transition. Played pretty disciplined. They made a little run. We got a little sloppy for two minutes there down the stretch but got back to good offense [and] connecting the game. Klay hits a big shot. And somebody else hit a shot. But it was just mindful basketball that we needed to finish strong.”