To me this was a "moral defeat" (a game they won but was discouraging). -AL

=======================================

Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins power Warriors in fourth to squeak out
win, snap losing skid
Coach Steve Kerr experimented with severall small-ball lineups in
Monday's game against the Kings.
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 07: Golden State Warriors’
Stephen Curry #30 is guarded by Sacramento Kings’ Domantas Sabonis #10
in the second quarter of their NBA game at the Chase Center in San
Francisco, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
By MADELINE KENNEY | mkenney@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: November 7, 2022 at 9:30 p.m. | UPDATED: November 8, 2022 at
7:39 a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/11/07/stephen-curry-wills-warriors-to-victory-with-47-point-night/

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors were trailing the Sacramento Kings for most
of Monday night and on the brink of potentially losing their sixth
straight game. But Stephen Curry refused to let that happen.

Curry scored 17 of his season-high 47 points in the fourth quarter in
the Warriors’ 116-113 come-from-behind win.

The Warriors superstar hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Warriors
up by three with 1:23 remaining in the game to give Golden State its
first lead since the opening quarter. Kings coach Mike Brown called a
timeout as Curry gestured for the Chase Center crowd to get louder.

With the Warriors up by one with a second left, the Kings sent Curry to
the foul line. “M-V-P” chants erupted. He made both, padding the
Warriors’ lead to three.

>Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry #30 celebrates a basket with
Draymond Green #23 in the fourth quarter of their NBA game against the
Sacramento Kings at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on
Monday, Nov. 7, 2022. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

Kevin Huerter couldn’t make the last-second basket as the Warriors
squeaked out a close win, effectively snapping a five-game losing skid.

Lost in the madness of Curry’s phenomenal performance was Andrew
Wiggins’ 25-point night and big fourth-quarter effort. The wing, who’s
been the team’s second-best player this season, scored 13 points in the
final 12 minutes, making all five of his shots, including three from
deep. Wiggins finished with his second double-double of the season,
grabbing 10 rebounds.

Curry was once again outstanding as he willed the Warriors to victory.
He shot 17-for-24 on the night, including seven 3s. He also contributed
eight rebounds, eight assists and no turnovers in what was his best
performance of the season.

“Steph was just breathtaking,” coach Steve Kerr said after the win.
“He’s obviously one of the greatest players of all time and he plays so
well on so many nights but this even seemed like something special for
him… He just put us on his back.”

Curry kicked it up a notch in the second half, with the Warriors
battling to stay in the game. He was slapped with a technical foul — his
first in nearly a year — after he argued a no-call on a shot in the
third quarter. Draymond Green compared Curry’s mentality down the
stretch to his memorable Game 4 of June’s NBA Finals.

“He just wasn’t going to allow us to lose,” Green said. “Take that with
a grain of salt. I’m not saying this game was that important, but you
kind of know when to get out of the way, and it was one of those times
where he was taking over.”

The win wasn’t important in terms of it making any sort of statement.
The Kings are 3-6 after all and join the Warriors near the bottom of the
Western Conference. But getting the job done was vital for Golden State,
who was coming off a troubling 0-5 road trip that included losses to
four bottom-feeding Eastern Conference teams.

“I’ve never been more happy about a win in game 11 of the regular
season,” said Curry, who tightly embraced Green after the game. “We
needed it. Road trip was rough… And you come home, you feel the angst
and anxiety of like we just needed to win and thankfully we got it done
but we still got to take some steps in terms of playing better for 48
minutes.”

Curry continues to put up fantastic numbers — he leads the team in
nearly every statistical category and is averaging 32.6 points per game
— but has little to show for it as the Warriors continue to struggle
when he’s not on the court.

Golden State’s bench, praised in the preseason for its depth, hasn’t
been able to find its groove 11 games into the season. The Warriors’
reserves were outscored 49-15 by the Kings’ bench. Malik Monk dropped 24
off the bench for the Kings.

>Golden State Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins #22 shoots over Sacramento
Kings’ Domantas Sabonis #10 in the second quarter of their NBA game at
the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022.
(Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

With the Warriors off to the worst start for reigning champs in two
decades, Kerr signaled changes were coming to the rotation. Some of
those adjustments were on display Monday.

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over Kings

In previous games, James Wiseman joined Jordan Poole in being the first
two players to check into the game for the Warriors.

Not against the Kings, though.

Instead, it was Anthony Lamb who checked in alongside Poole, replacing
Klay Thompson and Kevin Looney.

Wiseman, the No. 2 overall pick in 2020, didn’t play at all. Neither did
JaMychal Green. Moses Moody, who had been a regular in the rotation,
didn’t enter the game until midway through the second.

The Warriors’ two-way players, Lamb and Ty Jerome, played more than the
team’s three lottery picks combined.

>Golden State Warriors’ Moses Moody #4 and Draymond Green #23 double
team Sacramento Kings’ Domantas Sabonis #10 in the second quarter of
their NBA game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday,
Nov. 7, 2022. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

Despite the changes, the results remained the same. The Warriors won the
minutes with the starters on the floor, but lost when the reserves were
out there. Jerome finished with a team-worst minus-22. Kuminga was
minus-17 and Poole, whose slump continued against the Kings, was minus-11.

Meanwhile, four of the Warriors starters finished in double-figure scoring.

The Warriors (4-8) have three days off before hosting the Cleveland
Cavaliers Friday.

“It’s pretty rare to have only two games in a stretch like this,” Kerr
said. “We have to take advantage of it while we can.”

>Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry #30 celebrates their 116-113 NBA
win over the Sacramento Kings with head coach Steve Kerr at the Chase
Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022. (Jane
Tyska/Bay Area News Group)