SAN FRANCISCO -- As the final decision of the complicated Gary Payton II trade hung like a dark cloud over Chase Center, the Warriors attempted to play basketball Saturday night against the Los Angeles Lakers.
It was ugly at times, sometimes for long stretches, and resulted in a 109-103 loss to a Lakers team that was without LeBron James.
The Warriors again got 3-point happy, and shots were bricking out on their home court. Golden State got 96 shots up, and 44 came from deep. Of those 44 shots, the Warriors made just 12 of them.
They shot 41.7 percent overall and 27.3 percent from beyond the arc. Oof.
Again, the Warriors (28-28) also found themselves in a major free-throw discrepancy. While the Lakers (26-31) went 21 for 26 from the line, the Warriors were 11 for 12. Their consistent holes at the charity stripe continue to haunt them.
Jordan Poole caught fire in the fourth quarter and led the Warriors with 29 points. Klay Thompson was the Warriors' second-leading scorer, finishing with 15 points as he went cold from the field (5 for 21) and from long distance (3 for 13).
Here are three takeaways from the Warriors' second straight loss.
Rui Hachimura dared Draymond Green to take a three. In a waiting game of who would move first, Green let it fly from the right corner with Hahimura nowhere in sight.
Bad idea. For Hachimura, that is.
Draymond let him hear it down the court, as the Warriors star was awakened. His energy didn't come in spurts. He brought it all game long. Whenever the Warriors needed a jolt, Green was there to flex on the Lakers.
If only others followed him. At halftime, the Warriors had five players with a positive plus/minus. Through three quarters, Green (plus-8) was the only remaining Warrior in the positive.
He finished just shy of a triple-double with 12 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. Green also was a game-high plus-12 in plus/minus.
The Jordan Poole experience can be a roller-coaster full of highs and lows. In the fourth quarter, the ride kept climbing higher and higher.
With the Warriors down by six points entering the fourth quarter, Poole scored eight in under a minute and a half to tie the score at 87. That was only the start of Poole lighting up in the final quarter. He scored the Warriors' first 17 points in the fourth before a Ty Jerome layup, which was assisted by Poole.
Poole entered the fourth quarter with 12 points while going 5 for 14 from the field and had made only one of his six 3-point attempts. Then came the fourth quarter, where he scored 17 points, going 6 for 11 overall and 2 for 4 on threes.
But that wasn't enough in yet another disappointing Warriors loss.
Even with an important game taking place, the main storyline of the night was off the court. Everyone wants to know, will Gary Payton II be a Warrior again or not? Here's what we know.
Payton's No. 8 jersey and locker is set up and ready to go in the Warriors' locker room. James Wiseman's locker is without a nameplate, and essentially is bare besides two jackets. Payton was at Chase Center all game long.
And then he emerged from the Warriors' tunnel to watch the game with Mike Dunleavy Jr. and general manager Bob Myers.
The Warriors have until Sunday at 6:30 p.m. to either go through with their three-team trade that brings Payton back from the Portland Trail Blazers and sends Wiseman to the Detroit Pistons. Payton failed his physical Friday because of an abdominal injury that required offseason surgery. He would miss an unknown time with the Warriors if the trade goes through.
This remains a fluid situation, until further notice.
