The Golden State Warriors fell 124-111 to the Atlanta Hawks Sunday night at Chase Center, snapping a three-game home winning streak.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr emphasized Atlanta’s play, saying, “I think it was all about Atlanta. They just played a great game… they shot it lights out, 32 assists, seven turnovers. I didn’t think we played poorly, I didn’t think we played that well. They deserved it.”
Kerr highlighted the Hawks’ length and defensive switching, explaining, “They’re long and athletic. They did a really good job defensively… we got into a couple late-clock situations where they jumbled us up with their switching and then we turned it over. That stretch was a killer for sure.”
On maintaining his starters in a difficult game, Kerr noted, “I was ready to take our guys out with probably six minutes left… I felt like we needed to give it one more chance after we fell behind early fourth, and we made a little run, so I kept them out there a few more minutes.”
Kerr acknowledged his team’s shooting struggles, saying, “We needed to shoot better… it’s just a basketball game. Last game the bench had like 60-something points. Every game’s different. We needed a couple guys to get hot, and it didn’t happen.”
Discussing the Hawks’ hot bench performances, Kerr said, “Luke Kennard scored a season-high 22 points tonight… two of them were off turnovers, corner threes. They have a lot of playmaking with Jalen Johnson, Daniels, and Alexander-Walker. They broke our defense down.”
Kerr also addressed the inconsistency of role players, stating, “The great players play really well like four out of every five nights. Role players, it’s kind of two out of every four. That’s all this league is—great players can do it every night, younger players are trying to develop that consistency.”
Despite 30 points each from Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler, Golden State struggled from three-point range, hitting just 10-of-42, and received little scoring support from the rest of the roster.
Atlanta’s balanced attack included Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s 24 points, Jalen Johnson’s 23 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists, and Luke Kennard’s 22 points off the bench. The Hawks forced Golden State into extended cold stretches and controlled tempo to earn their third straight victory, improving to 20-21.
The Warriors will host Portland in their next game, while Atlanta continues its four-game road trip against the Lakers on Tuesday night.
