The game of the year in the NBA was, in the end, more of an exhibition than a competition.
It wasn’t a case of a wound-up Indiana team pushing the undefeated Warriors to the brink, threatening their win streaks. It was a case of the Warriors going into Bankers Life Fieldhouse and blowing the hopeful Pacers off the floor.
The Warriors answered the Pacers with a 131-123 victory made close only because Indiana was roundly superior in the garbage time that came when the Warriors entered the fourth quarter with a 28-point lead.
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The first 36 minutes, however, amounted to a public flogging.
“The first three quarters were amazing, we moved the ball, we defended well, we had low turnovers and we had high assists,” Draymond Green told reporters in Indianapolis.
“The last quarter was just ridiculous. We lost our focus.”
As bad as the fourth quarter was – the Warriors were outscored 40-20 – the worst of it came inside the final minute, when Klay Thompson turned his right ankle and limped off the floor. Thompson, who scored a game-high 39 points, didn’t start the fourth quarter and was playing only because Indiana trimmed a 28-point margin to 16 by walloping Warriors reserves.
Golden State Warriors
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Indeed, the only sour note of the night was that fourth quarter. X-rays were negative on Thompson’s ankle, but the incident highlighted the perils of reinserting starters because the bench failed.
“We were thrilled with the way we played for three quarters,” Walton said. “We’re obviously not happy about giving up 40 in the fourth. But for most of the game, we were happy with the effort.”
For most of the game, the Warriors should be happy with everything. They owned the night. They rang up a 22-0 run in the first quarter and pushed the lead as high as 32. This was their response to the Pacers (12-8), who had spoken confidently about how well they match up with the defending champs.
This game also could be taken as a response to any team that dares to think it has a small lineup that can run with the Warriors when they go small. It’s risky, maybe even foolish.
Indiana over the offseason altered its squad to play faster, and has been successful through the early weeks of the season. It quickly became clear, though, that the Pacers have seen nothing like the Warriors, whose 79 first-half points represent the most prolific half in the NBA this season.
“We just gave up points way too fast,” said Indiana star Paul George said, who finished with a team-high 33 points on 11-of-27 shooting.
George and the Pacers couldn’t keep up, whether they played big or small. The Warriors, in both instances, were better at each end of the court. That’s how they pushed their season-opening win streak to 23 and their overall streak to 27 while becoming the only NBA team to win its first 13 road games.
The Warriors lit up the scoreboard, shooting 61.5 percent in the first quarter, 63.6 percent in the second and 60.9 percent in the third, after which they had a 111-83 lead. Thompson was unconscious, and Stephen Curry wasn’t far behind. The two combined for 45 first-half points. Indiana starters Monta Ellis and George Hill combined for 10 before intermission.
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The Warriors’ defense, until very late, didn’t allow the Pacers to get comfortable. Indiana shot 41.4 percent through the first three quarters.
“Our guys were locked in,” Walton said. “They were excited about this game tonight. That’s a very good team.”
The Warriors played as if they respected the Pacers, as if the Eastern Conference contenders were dangerous enough to snap their numerous win streaks. That explains the intensity displayed through the first three quarters.
It was statement time, and the Warriors delivered.
“This team can teach you a lot of lessons and one is when a team scores, push it and score back,” Pacers said Frank Vogel said of the Warriors. “If you’re not scoring against this team, you don’t have a chance.”
Even if you are scoring, the question then becomes can you score enough?