Martinez Tribune The website of the Martinez Tribune.
BY DANIEL GLUSKOTER
The cold shooting Warriors dug themselves an early hole, falling behind the upstart Indiana Pacers by 13 points in the first quarter and playing catch up throughout the game before succumbing 112-104 at Chase Center Monday night.
Buddy Hield goes around Kevon Looney on the way to the basket during the Pacers 112-104 win over Golden State Monday night at Chase Center.
Golden State was playing without forward Andrew Wiggins, out with a groin injury, but the Pacers were also without a pair of starters, center Myles Turner and forward Tyrese Haliburton who average a combined 35 points and 12 rebounds per game.
The Warriors took the lead briefly for the first time in the game at 93-92 with just over nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter on a three pointer from Klay Thompson, but after a Nembhard three put the Pacers up 102-100 at the 3:45 mark they never looked back.
Steph Curry had has lowest scoring output of the season, going just 3-17 from the field while Draymond Green totaled two points on 1-8 shooting in 33 minutes of action. The loss snapped Golden State’s ten game home winning streak.
Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin puts up a shot over Draymond Green during the Pacers 112-104 win over the Warriors Monday night.
Indiana was led by a career high 31 points by rookie guard Andrew Nembhard, a second round draft pick out of Gonzaga. The 6′ 3″ Nembhard (13-21) also produced 13 assists and eight rebounds.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr heaped praise on the unheralded rookie after the game; “Nembhard in particular was just getting anywhere he wanted in the lane and you saw his patience. He threw some brilliant passes, lob passes, drop passes and then when we tried to cover up the paint he was out there knocking down threes. Great, great player.”
Thompson was one of the few bright spots for Golden State, tallying 28 points while shooting 8-16 from three. Jordan Poole, starting for Wiggins, totaled 23. Buddy Hield added 17 points for Indiana, while Jalen Smith pitched in 15 with nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
Klay Thompson goes up for a shot on the way to 28 points during the Warriors 112-104 loss to the Indiana Pacers Monday night.
Golden State has a road game in Salt Lake City on Wednesday against the Jazz before returning home to prepare for a NBA Finals rematch against the Boston Celtics on Saturday night.
GAME NOTES:
Indiana continued their mastery over the Warriors and have now won five of the last six games played Golden State in the Bay Area.
Monday was the sixth anniversary of Thompson’s 60 point game against the Pacers.
Thompson has now scored 20 or more points in six of his last eight games. His eight three’s moved him past Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd into 13th place on the NBA’s All-Time 3-Point list.
Nembhard became the first player to have 30+ points and 10 or more assists in their first career game vs. the Warriors.
