Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski reflected on Sunday’s 141-127 overtime loss to the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena.
“Just our spacing off it. We honestly haven’t worked on teams running, trapping like that in the backcourt. We just got to fix our spacing when it comes to our alignment when there’s two people on the ball,” Podziemski said.
He acknowledged turnovers and rebounding struggles as key factors in the late-game collapse.
“Defensively down the stretch it was impacted by our offense and the turnovers, and the times we did get stops we just didn’t come up with the rebound,” he explained. “We’re just kind of in scramble mode, so it’s hard to play defense that way.”
Podziemski emphasized the frustration of losing despite maintaining a favorable turnover margin.
“As a competitor, you want to win every game. We easily could be 11 and 6 instead of 6 and 11, and it just kind of changes the perspective on our team,” he said.
The Raptors’ dominance on the glass drew specific attention from Podziemski.
“They just got a lot of guys every time a shot goes up. Some of them are bound to land your way, and they did a great job consistently going,” he said.
Looking ahead, Podziemski outlined the mentality needed for the Warriors’ next matchup in Brooklyn.
“Got to win. Don’t let one turn to two. We just won three in a row, so had to slip up tonight and just get back on track,” he said.
The Warriors struggled against Scottie Barnes’ historic performance, as the Raptors forward recorded 25 rebounds, 23 points, and 10 assists for a triple-double. Toronto also scored 35 points off 21 Warriors turnovers, the most allowed by Golden State this season.
Despite Stephen Curry’s 39 points and Draymond Green’s 21, the Warriors could not overcome Toronto’s late surge, including a 9-2 run in the final 1:32 of regulation to force overtime.
Podziemski’s comments highlighted the challenges of spacing, defensive execution, and rebounding that contributed to the overtime defeat.
Golden State will travel to Brooklyn, while Toronto hosts the Orlando Magic on Monday, looking to extend their momentum.
