Washington Wizards forward Corey Kispert (24) takes a shot against the Golden State Warriors at the Capital One Center in Washington DC on Sun Mar 27, 2022 (AP News photo)
Again, No Second Half Surge For Warriors; Wizards 123 Warriors 115
By Barbara Mason
Sunday afternoon the Warriors (48-27) took on the Washington Wizards (32-42) at Capital Arena. They would play the game with the same lineup as their game against the Atlanta Hawks Friday night in a losing effort 121-110.
The Warriors had a great offensive game in the first half of that matchup but the defense was lacking and would have to be cleaned up. The Warriors couldn’t keep up dropping their second straight game to the Wizards 123-115.
The Warriors have fallen 3.5 games behind the second place Memphis Grizzlies but are 3.0 games ahead of the fourth place Utah Jazz in the Western Conference. There have been numerous scenarios of just who the Warriors could meet in the first round of the playoffs.
I believe that if you plan to win a championship it doesn’t matter who you play. You have to be equipped to beat every team in the playoffs. You have to be able to beat the best of the best.
The Wizards had a nice first quarter leading mid-way through the game 14-7. The Warriors had some open looks in the quarter but were not able to put points on the board. Their defense looked good and they needed their offense to start clicking.
Despite being outplayed in the opening quarter and shooting only 33% the Warriors were still in this game. The Wizards led 28-24 going into the second quarter and Golden State had to find their offense.
The Warriors fell behind 48-37 mid-way through the second quarter. They had to start stringing some stops together and take away the momentum that the Wizards were playing with.
Washington was confident offensively building a 51-37 lead and the Warriors needed to shut down their rhythm and make a run before the half. After trailing by 18 the Warriors made up some ground at the half. The Wizards led 59-51.
The third quarter was equally as frustrating for Golden State. Every time they got a little momentum going they would either fail to score or turn the ball over. The Warriors were 7 of 25 on three’s through three quarters. Washington continued to lead 92-81.
The fourth quarter went from bad to worse when Draymond Green was hit with a technical foul four minutes into the quarter. The Wizards were having their best three point shooting game of the season. The Warriors could not take the Wizards out of this game giving the Wizards their 30th second win of the season 123-115. For the Warriors it was simply no offense – no win.
Outscored by 24 points from behind the three point line the Warriors struggled from the get go. They did get some offensive work from Jordan Poole with 26, Klay Thompson 25 and Andrew Wiggins with 23.
Draymond Green had a tough game struggling with too many turnovers seven points, six assists and only five rebounds. It was the shots from downtown that failed Golden State. It was an ugly loss for the Warriors and Golden State had lost another game that they had no business losing.
The Warriors will finish this disappointing road trip tomorrow taking on the second place Memphis Grizzlies. This will be a very challenging game especially if they play the way that they played against the Wizards. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 PM.
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