BOX SCORE
The Warriors started the second half of the season with a ... thud.Trying to build on a two-game winning streak, the Warriors got down big early, made a run in the second quarter and then were run off by the Pacers the court in the second half.The Warriors five-game road trip continues on Wednesday against Atlanta.Pacers 102, Warriors 78
Player of the game: Danny Granger seemed to toy with the Warriors on Tuesday, scoring 25 points in 29 minutes and scoring those points on a variety of defenders.In his previous seven games against the Warriors, Granger had averaged 31.6 points -- most against any opponent -- so in one respect the blowout loss helped Golden State limit Granger more than usual.After all, Granger didnt play in the fourth quarter.Embarrassing, Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. We got outworked, did not take care of the basketball and allowed them to get into transition. The disappointing part is that we allowed out inability to make shots affect the way we defended.Key stretch: The Warriors stumbled late in the second quarter and it put them in a hole they couldnt get out of. The Pacers held a 41-37 lead with just under three minutes to play, but wound up outscoring the Warriors 11-1 to take a 52-38 halftime lead.During that stretch, the Warriors turned the ball over twice, missed four shots and allowed the Pacers two second-chance opportunities.This game was lost at the end of the second quarter, Jackson said. End of the first quarter we put together a run, got back into the game. But the end of the second quarter they go on an 8-1 runturnover, fastbreak, turnover, fastbreak.Thats where they won the ballgame.Missing 3-ball: Its no secret the Warriors rely heavily on the 3-point shot, so when theyre not falling Golden State can be in some troublelike on Tuesday.The Warriors missed 16 of their first 17 shots from beyond the arc so it was no wonder they were down 67-44 midway through the third quarter. When the Warriors cant connect from long range, it puts more pressure on their offense to score in other waysand that sometimes can be problematic because they have a lack of an inside game.For the game, the Warriors were 3-for-22 from beyond the arc.We went into the break playing great basketball and had a rhythm, Jackson said of wins over the L.A. Clippers and Phoenix. And tonight everything we had going for us was everything we didnt have tonight. We missed shots and youre going to miss shots. But we didnt win ballgames because we made shots, we won ballgames because we defended, took care of the ball and got back in transition.But you cant game plan for lack of effort, you cant game plan for turning the ball over and you cant game plan for giving up second-chance points.
Bad start: The Warriors didnt exactly come back from the break clicking on all cylinders. In fact, it was the opposite of that. The Pacers jumped out to a 10-0 lead, holding the Warriors scoreless for more than three minutes to start the game.No Curry: The Warriors played on Tuesday night without starting point guard Stephen Curry, who was nursing a strained tendon in his right foot.Curry sustained the injury in the first quarter of last Wednesdays game against the Phoenix Suns. The Warriors are calling Currys status day to day, however it seems like a longshot that Curry would play Tuesday at Atlanta.
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