Despite leading for nearly the entire first half, the Warriors fell apart in the third quarter against the Pacers.
The Golden State Warriors fell to .500 at home this season on Friday night, losing to the Indiana Pacers 123-111. Despite leading for nearly the entire first half, the Dubs were unable to send the Chase Center crowd home happy and fell to 36-33 on the season. They are now half a game behind the Lakers for the ninth seed in the Western Conference and 2.5 games ahead of the Rockets.
Both squads started strong offensively. They combined to commit just three turnovers and each team scored 38 points in the first quarter, making more than 50% of their shots from inside the arc and 50% of their three-point attempts. Pacers stars Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton led the way for Indiana, but the Warriors starting backcourt of Steph Curry and Brandin Podziemski was red hot. Curry was 5-for-6 from the field in the quarter (3-for-4 from three), scoring 13 points while Podziemski added 8 points on 3-for-4 shooting (2-for-3 from three).
The Dubs starting backcourt cooled in the second quarter, but the Splash Brother off the bench-Klay Thompson-caught fire to lead them to a double-digit lead. However, the Warriors scored just three points in the final four minutes of the first half, allowing the Pacers to cut the lead to 67-66 at the half.
Indiana quickly carried that momentum over in the third quarter. An 11-0 run, gave the Pacers a double-digit lead that they would built up to 17. In the fourth quarter, the Warriors were able to cut their deficit to single-digits, but never pulled within five points.
Haliburton scored a game-high 26 points alongside 11 assists, 4 steals, 3 blocks, and a game-best +25 plus/minus. Siakam recorded 25 points, 16 rebounds, and 6 assists. Pacers starting shooting guard Andrew Nembhard also had a highly-efficient 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting alongside 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Curry led the Warriors with 25 points and 11 rebounds, but finished 9-for-24 from the field (6-for-18 from three). No other player on the team scored more than 13 points.
After hosting the Pacers on Friday, the Warriors will return to a road trip over the weekend. Golden State will travel to Minnesota to face the 47-22 Timberwolves on Sunday. Opening tip off is scheduled for 4:00 PM Pacific.