What we learned as Warriors blow 18-point lead in ugly loss to Kings

What we learned as Warriors blow 18-point lead in ugly loss to Kings originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

The Warriors no longer are the Sacramento Kings’ older brothers. It’s time to pass the torch, at least for the time being.

Following the Warriors’ 123-117 loss Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center, Golden State now has lost four consecutive regular-season games against Sacramento, and that of course doesn’t even include last season’s throttling in the NBA Play-In Tournament.

At halftime, the Warriors led by 17 points. Their biggest lead of the game was 18 points, which ties their biggest blown lead of the 2024-25 NBA season as the Warriors fell below .500 with a 21-22 record.

Steph Curry was held to only 14 points, but his season-high 12 assists gave him a double-double. Andrew Wiggins scored a team-high 25 points, and Buddy Hield was next in line with 17. Gui Santos scored a career-high 16 points in 23 minutes off the bench.

These two teams couldn’t have contrasted more in style. The Warriors made 22 3-pointers, 11 more than the Kings, for a 33-point advantage. But the Kings made 21 more free throws than the Warriors and attempted 19 more than them. The Kings had 28 fastbreak points, and the Warriors didn’t score a single fastbreak point.

Far and away, the biggest problem was taking care of the ball. The Warriors were carefree and paid for it, handing the Kings 19 turnovers that resulted in 27 points.

Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ second loss to their Northern California rivals this season.

Switching Schröder’s Role

Since being traded from the Brooklyn Nets to the Warriors, Dennis Schröder had played 17 games for his new team and had been in the starting lineup every game — until Wednesday night in Sacramento. Coach Steve Kerr made multiple changes to the short-handed Warriors starting lineup, and the biggest was sending Schröder to the bench.

Schroder wasn’t the first Warrior off the bench either. Moses Moody and Trayce Jackson-Davis already had taken their sweatpants off before Schröder and Lindy Waters III received their first minutes of the night.

The change didn’t matter. Schröder’s five turnovers topped all Warriors. He was a minus-5 in 21 minutes off the bench with seven points, three rebounds and five assists.

This isn’t a sample-size excuse anymore. The Warriors have a Schröder-sized issue on their hands that has to be addressed.

Second-Quarter Santos

The box score stats stood out enough. Watching Santos closely really shows where his impact is felt.

While the Warriors found their groove in the second quarter, outscoring the Kings by 13 points, Santos was a major reason why. Santos played nine minutes and 42 seconds in the second quarter and was plus-13 with 11 points, two rebounds and one assist. He went 4 of 6 from the field and 3 of 4 from 3-point range.

Hitting three 3-pointers always is an added bonus. But it’s Santos’ cutting which clears space for himself or teammates that is impossible to miss. Multiple Warriors did a great job of cutting in the second quarter, following Santos’ lead. It’s the top skill that Kerr always credits for why he’s comfortable playing Santos.

“I was trying to bring energy, both on defense and offense,” Santos told NBC Sports Bay Area at halftime. “I had a couple of wide-open shots and today I knocked them down

Unfortunately for the Warriors, any momentum that was made in the second quarter didn’t translate to the third.

12 Minutes of Disaster

Remember when the Warriors used to come out of halftime and close the doors on teams thanks to dominating the third quarter? That feels like years ago, maybe even decades ago. After playing 12 minutes of nearly perfect basketball, the Warriors stumbled, tumbled and fell flat on their faces in the third quarter.

Their 17-point halftime lead evaporated, being outscored 37-20. They were 8 of 20 from the field and 1 of 10 from 3-point range. The Warriors in the first half totaled seven turnovers. In the third quarter alone, they turned it over eight times – doubling their four assists for the frame.

Curry, Schröder and Gary Payton II each had two turnovers in the quarter, followed by one turnover from Santos and one from Hield. Almost all were inexcusable.

Whether it’s coming from Kerr or his players, the Warriors have reiterated time and time again that they’re not good enough to be this sloppy with the ball. Yet like clockwork, the Warriors play like the ball belongs to the other team.

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