Golden State head coach Steve Kerr addressed his team’s 113-109 loss to New Orleans, saying, “I don’t know that down the stretch is what got us. It was just the full, you know, 48 minutes, 21 turnovers. We did not execute very well offensively. Spacing was bad. Transition we had probably three potential layups in the first half and we didn’t run. We didn’t cut to the rim. We didn’t get to the corners. So we just looked a little disjointed.”
Kerr noted the impact of New Orleans’ defensive pressure: “I thought their pressure early took us out of some stuff. The game was right there for us. We just couldn’t execute well enough, and with the injuries we have, we have to play well to win.”
The coach reflected on the team’s rhythm, adding, “No, it just never felt like there was a flow to the game. Even sometimes when you can get an open three, yes, it’s a good shot, but if there’s no rhythm and flow to the game, then you’re not going to shoot it as well.”
Kerr highlighted pockets of improvement in the second half, saying, “We showed pockets of it in the second half. Our off-ball stuff was pretty good. We got some layups. Some of the decision-making really hurt us. Too many turnovers and just never quite found the rhythm we needed.”
Praising individual performances, Kerr said of De’Anthony Melton, “He was great. It’s really fun to see him performing at this level after being out for a couple years. He’s such a great guy, a fantastic teammate, hell of a player, and I’m really happy for him that he’s healthy and playing at a high level.”
He addressed a notable play involving a foul, explaining, “I was worried that they were going to wave off the free throw because he fouled him during the free throw. The officials did a good job of handling that and explaining the situation.”
Regarding Draymond Green’s second-half performance, Kerr added, “The game opened up a little bit. I thought Draymond did a really good job of running the floor. Without Steph, we’ve got to get him down the floor. You could see the assists start to pile up because we did some things off ball to create some openings. He made some really nice plays.”
Kerr emphasized the challenge of winning while injured: “With the injuries we have, we have to play well to win. I don’t think we played well.”
The Warriors struggled from deep, connecting on 11 of 45 three-pointers (24.4%), and committed 21 turnovers, which Kerr cited as critical. Golden State dominated the glass with 59 rebounds but fell short in late-game execution.
