Struggling Warriors look to turn tide vs. Nets

Stephen Curry scored 60 points on Saturday night but the Golden State Warriors wound up with a frustrating overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Earlier in the evening, Cam Thomas scored 40 to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a double-digit win at the Philadelphia 76ers in one of their best showings of the season.

On Monday, Curry and the Warriors head to Brooklyn to visit Thomas and the Nets with both teams looking to move closer to the .500 mark.

At 21-25, the Warriors own a losing record through 46 games for the third time in five seasons since winning three titles in a five-year span from 2015 through 2019. Golden State last held a winning record when it won five straight Dec. 16-23 to improve to 15-14. Since then, it is 6-11 over its past 17 games.

Curry finished two shy of his career high and produced his second career 60-point game. The Warriors reached at least 130 points for the eighth time this season but wound up with a 141-134 loss to the Hawks, who are 10th in the Eastern Conference and 1 1/2 games ahead of the Nets.

Curry scored eight of his 60 in overtime, but Golden State allowed the Hawks to make 8 of 11 shots in the extra five minutes.

“It’s frustrating, obviously, not coming away with the win knowing a couple plays here, a couple plays there could have been a different outcome,” Curry said after posting the NBA’s sixth 60-point game this season. “It just adds to our frustrating season.”

Curry shot 22 of 38 and hit 10 3s. Since sitting out in Milwaukee on Jan. 13, he is averaging 35.3 points over seven games while shooting 52.4 percent from the floor and 46.4 percent from 3-point range.

Thomas heads into Monday coming off his seventh career 40-point game and the Nets are 2-5 all-time in those games. He had four last season and produced his third of this season in Saturday’s 136-121 win over the 76ers in a game the Nets led by as many as 30 and produced some of their best offensive numbers all season.

Brooklyn, which is eight games below .500, scored over 135 points for the third time and shot 51.6 percent for its fifth-highest percentage. The Nets also made 20 3-pointers for the fourth time they sank at least 20 triples.

“We had a good rhythm offensively, getting out running, getting up good shots and moving the ball,” Thomas said after the Nets won for the third time in four games following a 2-12 slide. “We had good pop today,”

Thomas helped the Nets get those big numbers by shooting 14 of 26 and hitting five 3-pointers in 36 minutes. Thomas has scored 127 points while starting the past four games and is averaging 23.6 points in 24 starts this season compared with 18.5 points in 15 games as a reserve.

“You’re seeing it at all levels now,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said of Thomas, who made six starts in his first two seasons. “Whether it’s the ability for us to run simple pick-and-rolls and he makes the right decision, he’s just doing it over and over again.”

Thomas started Saturday because Ben Simmons came off the bench in his second game since returning from a 38-game absence due to a back injury last Monday. Simmons did not score Saturday but contributed nine rebounds and five assists in 14 minutes.

Thomas is attempting to get a second big night against the Warriors this season. He scored 41 but Curry scored 16 of his 37 in the fourth to help Golden State get a 124-120 win on Dec. 16.

–Field Level Media

Thank you for reading SactownSports.com. Follow us on Twitter and Google News, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Newsletter