Warriors Overcome 19-Point Deficit, But Fall Late to Wizards

The Dubs were down by as much as 19 points in the first half, and the hot hands of Kelly Oubre Jr. (24 points, two 3-pointers) and Jordan Poole (22, six) off the bench brought the Warriors back into the game, but the Warriors could not close out of Wednesday’s road game and lost to the Washington Wizards 118-114.

More Stats | Highlights

There was an opportunity for the Warriors for tie the game up in the final 20 seconds when stout team defense on a full court press forced the Wizards to turn the ball over off an inbound pass.

Russell Westbrook was forced into a deep outlet pass to avoid an eight-second violation, but the pass was read by Andrew Wiggins who tipped it into the air. Kent Bazemore recovered it, drove to the bucket and found a driving Wiggins for a layup. His shot went up but rolled around on the iron and to the backboard before falling out. Though Bazemore leapt up to tip the ball in, the ball’s awkward roll on the rim kept it away from his outstretched hand.

Washington recovered the ball, and ultimately kept the Dubs at bay the remaining six-plus seconds. It was an unfortunate ending to a game in which the Warriors fought hard to overcome their early deficit.

Stephen Curry was bottled up early and often in this matchup. He was limited to just four points in the first quarter while forced into four turnovers in the first six minutes alone.

Despite the difficult first half, the two-time MVP came back to score 14 points in the second half.

Without their leading scorer able to produce early, other Dubs stepped up to keep them in this game.

Jordan Poole entered the game at the start of the second quarter and railed his first two 3-point attempts. He later added two free throws for eight quick points in the frame. Meanwhile Kelly Oubre Jr., who was in just his second game back after missing five with a wrist injury, came out hot with 18 points on 2-for-2 on his splashes from beyond the arc.

And while the those two Warrior reserves did their work early, Bazemore kept the squad in the entire contest. Despite what happened on that final play, he had a strong outing in 35 minutes as a starter and did work on both sides of the court, finishing with 19 points on 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, nine rebounds, three assists, a career-high tying six steals and two blocks.

Next to Bradley Beal’s 29 points for the Wizards, Oubre and Poole’s 24 and 22 respective points were the next highest scoring outputs of the game. Bazemore tied for fourth with two more Washington players.

Even with Wednesday’s loss, the Warriors end the road trip with a positive record of 3-2.

Home Sweet Home
The Warriors return home where they will finally reunite with Dub Nation when the doors of Chase Center open to fans for the first time in over a year on Friday night. The Nation’s energy will be a welcome feeling as the Dubs take on one of the top dogs of the Western Conference in the Denver Nuggets (7 p.m., NBCSBA+). Buy tickets here and get to know the Fan Safety Guide as you prepare to return home with the team.

More Notables ...