Warriors’ Steve Kerr finds silver lining in shorthanded loss to Knicks

NEW YORK– It’s just one battle after another for the Golden State Warriors right now.

Down over $190-million in salary across eight players sidelined due to injury, the undermanned Warriors fell 110-107 to the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden. The loss marked their fifth in a row, their longest losing streak of the season, dropping them down to 32-35 on the season.

But despite the defeat, coach Steve Kerr was proud of his players for the way they fought down so many players, including Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Kristaps Porzingis.

“Could not ask for anything more,” Kerr said. “These guys are so fun to coach. They’re playing so hard together. I just want them to be rewarded for their efforts. And we’ve lost a few of these, but we’re going to keep fighting [and] keep
getting better.”

Up 21 points at one point, the Warriors took the fight right to the Knicks early in the game with Brandin Podziemski and Quinten Post, leading the way. Podziemski finished with a team-high 25 points along with six assists, while Post collected 22 points on 9-of-16 from the field.

But once New York shook off its complacency, it began imposing its will on the Warriors. They forced nine Warrior turnovers in the second quarter to cut the lead down to nine at halftime. And in the third quarter, they bullied the Dubs on the boards, outrebounding them 15-to-1 in that period.

Still, Golden State kept it close till the dying minutes thanks to Gui Santos scoring 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. But with a chance to take the lead with 23.7 seconds remaining, Podziemski pulled up for a 26-foot triple over Jalen Brunson that did not go in, and from there the Warriors could not recover.

Steve Kerr backs Brandin Podziemski’s shot

Podziemski’s missed 3-pointer in transition will be remembered as the big what-if inflection point for the Warriors in crunch time. But whether that was an ill-advised shot or not, in Kerr’s mind, he thought it was a good one to take.

“Loved it,” Kerr said after the game. “Didn’t want to call a timeout. I wanted to play in flow. He had Brunson on him. He looked like he was going to attack. Brunson backed up. I love it. Take the three, go for the throat.”

Regardless, the Warriors find themselves at their lowest point in the season. Five losses in a row, barely holding onto the ninth seed, slipping further behind the Los Angeles Clippers in eighth, Curry still a ways away from returning– it just feels like it’s do or die time for Golden State right now.

But Kerr maintained that while they are “beaten up” right now, he couldn’t be prouder of the effort they’ve shown as of late.

“I’m just blown away by these guys,” Kerr said. “Just their effort, their intensity, their connection. It’s really beautiful to watch. And like I said, we’re going to get rewarded for this. We’re going to stay with it and continue to get better, and we’re going to start winning some of these and get some guys healthy.”

If there’s one thing the Warriors have had in these losses, it’s been effort. Effort, hustle, grit, and fight. There’s a level of buy-in from this team that you don’t see from most losing teams. So the program remains the same for Golden State.

“We gotta keep batting,” Santos said after the game. “We gotta keep trying to win games when we don’t have other guys, because we know when they get back, we’re gonna be good.”

The post Warriors’ Steve Kerr finds silver lining in shorthanded loss to Knicks appeared first on ClutchPoints.