Getty Head coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors directs his team.
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr is still steadfast in his belief that a deep playoff run is on the horizon following their 109-99 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, March 12, which widened the gap between them in the standings.
“The season it really is a marathon,” Kerr told reporters. “I still have no doubt that this team can get on a great run and make a good push.”
The 10-point loss to the 8th-place Mavericks was the Warriors’ third in their last four games after a 12-3 stretch that enabled them to get back into the play-in picture.
Without Draymond Green, who was a late scratch with back soreness, and Stephen Curry (sprained right ankle), the Warriors trailed by as many as 18 points against the Mavericks.
Steph Curry Injury Update
Despite the loss, Kerr is encouraged by the potential return of Curry in their next game.
“I still like who our team is,” Kerr said. “We’re hoping to get Steph back for Saturday. I like the team a lot better now than I did a couple of months ago when we were really sorting through a lot of things. I think we have an identity, I think we know who we are, I think we’ll bounce back here, and I’m excited about the last part of the season.”
Curry will join the Warriors’ practice in Los Angeles on Friday, March 13, and see how he feels. He already tucked in a practice with the Santa Cruz Warriors on Wednesday while his team was in Dallas, according to Kerr.
Steph Curry practiced with Santa Cruz today in the Warriors’ SF facility. Went well. He will join the Warriors for practice Friday in LA before they decide on his status vs Lakers on Saturday.
Saturday’s game against the 9th-place Los Angeles Lakers could be a preview of a potential play-in matchup.
The Warriors trail the Lakers by a full game and the 8th-place Mavericks by 3.5 with only 17 games left in the regular season.
Warriors Short of Firepower
The Warriors lost despite the Mavericks shooting an awful 6 of 27 from the 3-point range.
Their main problem was they were short of firepower without Curry and Green’s playmaking as Kerr pointed out they did not move the ball well and had too many stagnant possessions.
“What Draymond does, he puts his impact on the game one way or the other,” Kerr told reporters. “Doesn’t matter. People get hurt, and you’ve got to respond.”
The Warriors only shot 40.2% from the field and just 9 of 28 from long distance.
Klay Thompson went 3 of 13 and scored only 8 points. Jonathan Kuminga led the Warriors with 27 points while Andrew Wiggins added 17.
It was Kuminga’s third straight 20-point game since they lost Curry to an ankle injury.
“It doesn’t really matter,” Kuminga told reporters. “At the end of the day, we were still losing.”
Golden State failed to capitalize when Dallas lost Luka Doncic to a hamstring injury. The Mavericks superstar only played 22 seconds in the fourth quarter.
Trayce Jackson-Davis, who started at center without Green, opened the final quarter with a basket to cut the Mavericks’ lead to 76-72. But that was the closest they could get as the Mavericks responded with an 11-0 run led by Kyrie Irving.
A Doncic alley-oop pass — his only play in the fourth quarter before he exited with the injury — to Daniel Gafford gave the Mavericks their largest lead at 92-74 with 6:46 left