Warriors fall to Pacers 112-104 in team’s worst loss of the season

The Indiana Pacers came into the Chase Center on Monday night and snapped the Golden State Warriors 10-game winning streak on their home floor. Indiana was missing their two best players (Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner) on the second half of a back-to-back and the fourth straight game on the road. Yet, it was the Warriors, who were only missing Andrew Wiggins, that looked sluggish.

The Pacers jumped out to an early 16-point lead. Steph Curry was horrendous offensively, finishing 3-for-17 from the field (2-for-10 from three) and the Dubs perimeter defense was horrendous without Wiggins.

In an unusual twist, the Dubs had their best runs with Curry on the bench at the start of the second and fourth quarters. Jonathan Kuminga fouled out in 23 minutes of action, but he added 10 points and 4 rebounds off the bench and continued solidifying his place in the rotation. Anthony Lamb had a Dubs-best +14 plus/minus, but that might have had more to do with replacing Kevon Looney, who was outplayed by the Pacers athletic bigs, than Lamb’s individual performance.

The Warriors seemed to have woken up from their slow start in the second quarter, when Klay Thompson caught fire and tied the game at 42 with a three. But as was the case all night, the Pacers immediately answered and went into the half up 59-50.

The Pacers still led by eight heading into the fourth quarter, but once again the Warriors made a move with Steph on the bench. Another three from Klay put the Dubs ahead 93-92 with more than nine minutes left in regulation. To the Pacers credit, they did not blink. They quickly answered, and with Curry unusually off, the Warriors slowly fell behind.

Pacers rookie second-round pick Andrew Nembhard was easily the star of the night. Stepping in for Haliburton, Nembhard recorded 31 points, 8 rebounds, 13 assists, and a game-best +16 plus/minus on 13-for-21 shooting from the field. Nembhard was a four-year starter in college between Florida and Gonzaga and was one of many names tied to the Warriors leading up to this year’s draft. They passed, opting to bet on Patrick Baldwin Jr’s upside. But Nembhard gave them reason to wish they had handled things differently on Monday.

The Warriors one step forward, one step back season continues. Now 13-12, they head to Utah to play the Jazz on Wednesday with opening tip-off scheduled for 6:00 PM Pacific.