Postgame Roundup: Steve Kerr proud of the way his team competed, says ‘we lost an emotional game’

The Golden State Warriors lost to the New York Knicks by a score of 114-116. It was a competitive game throughout, but the Warriors comeback fell just short after Klay Thompson missed the potential game-tying shot. Here’s some of the takeaways from the Warriors postgame pressers:

Steve Kerr’s thoughts on the game

The Warriors played their second game of a back-to-back after getting blown out by the Utah Jazz on Wednesday. They then had to travel back home from Utah and play against a physical Knicks team who was on two days of rest. Fatigue was a factor for moments in the game, but the Warriors played with just enough energy to keep things close. Despite the loss, head coach Steve Kerr was proud of the way his players fought until the final buzzer.

Here’s what Kerr had to say about his team:

Adding to the emotions was a technical foul called on Kerr late in the game. Andrew Wiggins attempted a shot at the rim that drew contact with the defender (the shot hit the top of the backboard and slid into the basket but didn’t count). However, the contact wasn’t called and Kerr slammed the scorer’s table in frustration resulting in a technical.

Here’s what he had to say about it:

Thompson on his final shot at the buzzer

A lot was made of the Warriors’ final shot attempt at the end of regulation. Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 35 points but was used as a decoy on the final play to create an opening for Thompson. Despite good defense by the Knicks, Thompson was able to get off a clean look but wasn’t able to convert the elbow jumper.

Here’s what he had to say about that shot:

Here’s Kerr on Thompson’s shot:

Rebounding becoming an issue

One of the more glaring stats of the game was the rebounding discrepancy between the teams. Golden State had 38 rebounds to New York’s 51, including 5 offensive boards to the Knicks’ 16. Low rebounding numbers have become a trend lately and most people attribute it to the team’s lack of size, but energy and hustle also factor into the equation. The team sees these problems as temporary though as the return of Draymond Green and James Wiseman should help alleviate this issue.

Here’s what Kerr had to say:

Thompson further emphasized that point:

Quote of the Night

On a lighter note, here’s a fun moment between Thompson and Curry. During Klay’s postgame presser, Steph stopped by and told him to plug his new celebrity dating game show.

Recap

The Warriors lost consecutive games for just the third time this season. Despite the loss, it was a hard-fought game where the team came up just short. They now get to rest up for Saturday’s primetime home matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers.