\n<\/p>\n
LOS ANGELES \u2014 With 37 seconds left in the fourth quarter Monday night, Stephen Curry was isolated with\u00a0Lakers center Anthony Davis guarding him one on one.<\/p>\n
The Lakers were up by 1 point in Game 4 of their Western Conference semifinal series, and the Golden State Warriors needed a basket to keep from being pushed to the brink of elimination. It should have been a mismatch: one of the greatest scoring guards in N.B.A. history matched up against a slower center. But Curry was stymied twice on the same possession. First, Davis, a top defensive player, poked the ball away. Then Curry missed a fadeaway. After an offensive rebound, Curry missed a 3-pointer over Davis again.<\/p>\n
Those were two of several fumbles by Golden State in the closing moments of an ugly affair in which the team did not show the championship mettle that led to four N.B.A. titles since 2015.<\/p>\n
With nine seconds left, forward Draymond Green threw the ball away with Golden State down 3. On an ensuing jump ball, Curry came down with possession, and instead of calling a timeout, he threw the ball away.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201c<\/em>I actually felt like somebody was behind me,\u201d Curry said after the game. \u201cI kind of just let it go. But bang-bang play. I wish I had a little bit more awareness to maybe call a timeout knowing we\u2019ve got enough time, but, you know, it just didn\u2019t go our way.\u201d<\/p>\n Golden State let an opportunity slip through its fingers, having led by as many as 12 in the third quarter. Instead, the Lakers won, 104-101.<\/p>\n Curry finished the game shooting 12 for 30. Klay Thompson, Curry\u2019s teammate, was 3 for 11. That, combined with not getting playmaking from Golden State\u2019s role players, has placed the team in dire straits, down, three\u00a0games\u00a0to\u00a0one, against a rejuvenated Lakers team. The late possessions were emblematic of a season-long deficiency that has plagued Golden State, particularly on the road: an inability to sustain effort through long stretches.<\/p>\n Perhaps this is the reality of having a core anchored by Curry,\u00a035; Thompson, 33; and Green, 33: It\u2019s easier to get tired and make mental mistakes. But if Golden State doesn\u2019t dig deep to resurface the magic of the last decade, its dynasty will be extinguished on Wednesday in San Francisco.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first time Golden State has been down 3-1 in a playoff series. In 2016, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook\u2019s Oklahoma City Thunder went up, 3-1, in the Western Conference finals before Golden State came roaring back and won the series. Three years later, Golden State found itself down, 3-1, against the Toronto Raptors in the finals. But with\u00a0injuries to Durant, who was then a teammate, and Thompson, the team lost in six games.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt feels like what it is: three\u00a0to\u00a0one,\u201d Coach Steve Kerr told reporters after Game 4. \u201cYou go home and you take care of business and you get a win and the momentum is right back in your favor. So that\u2019s all it is. Somebody has to win four times, and that\u2019s why you play it out.\u201d<\/p>\n It hasn\u2019t helped that Golden State\u2019s younger players have not been able to fill the void left by an off night by Curry. For the Lakers, Lonnie Walker IV,\u00a024,\u00a0a guard in his fifth year, scored 15 points, including crucial baskets in the fourth, to keep Golden State at bay. The second-year guard Austin Reaves, also 24, chipped in 21 points.<\/p>\n Those kinds of contributions have eluded Golden State this postseason. Instead, Golden State has had to rely as much on Curry at age 35 as it did when he was 25, a recipe for trouble this late in the season.<\/p>\n For years, the Golden State front office has been selling a two-timeline plan of development. It would try to chase championships in the present on the backs of Curry, Thompson and Green, while also developing young talent like Jonathan Kuminga, 20 (drafted seventh in 2021);\u00a0Moses Moody, 20 (14th pick in that same draft); James Wiseman, 22 (second pick in 2020);\u00a0and Jordan Poole, 23 (28th pick in 2019).<\/p>\n It was a risky maneuver with mixed results. It has meant not trading young, developing talent for veterans who could help the team now, and placing more of the\u00a0load on Curry in the back half of his career. Golden State traded Wiseman this season as injuries and inconsistency left him without a firm role in the rotation. Moody and Kuminga, each in his second year, have been yanked in and out of the lineup this season, though Moody has had playing time in this series. He scored 7 points in 19 minutes\u00a0Monday night.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n That\u2019s not abnormal for players barely out of their teenage years. But Golden State has one of the best players in the history of the N.B.A. playing at a high level right now. It needs Moody and Kuminga to be better immediately to take advantage of Curry\u2019s window.<\/p>\n Poole has been flummoxing. At times in his four-year career, he has been Golden State\u2019s best player. When the team\u2019s top stars have\u00a0faced injuries, he has been counted on to fill their absences as a reliable scorer. Last year, he was a core part of a Golden State team that won a championship, and he started a majority of games during the regular season. Poole was a concrete example of investment in a young player that worked for Golden State.<\/p>\n In October, Golden State invested in Poole further<\/a>, rewarding him with an extension reported to be worth nearly $140 million<\/a>. He was slated to be the bridge to the future \u2014 a potential All-Star replacement for a franchise looking forward to a life after Curry, Green and Thompson.<\/p>\n But Poole\u2019s production has become as unpredictable as his decision-making on the floor. While he averaged a career-high 20.4 points a game during the regular season, his shooting percentages dipped and his\u00a0turnovers increased. His shot selection has drawn immense criticism.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In the playoffs, Poole\u2019s play has cratered. Against the Sacramento Kings in the first round, he shot a dismal 33.8 percent from the field. On Monday night, he missed all four of his shots and played only 10 minutes. One shot was an air ball near the basket.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Poole\u2019s play was clearly a sore spot for him after the game on Monday. When approached by a reporter in the locker room, a frustrated Poole tersely said, \u201cI\u2019ve got nothing for you, big man.\u201d<\/p>\n After being cajoled by a Golden State press representative, Poole took questions, though he would not physically face reporters, creating an odd spectacle of reporters aiming recorders at the back and side of his head.<\/p>\n \u201cWork ethic doesn\u2019t change,\u201d Poole said. \u201cRoutine doesn\u2019t change. Maybe opportunity changes. But you can only control what you can control. We\u2019ve got another game in a couple days at home.\u201d<\/p>\n Curry, asked about Poole, said it wasn\u2019t about any one player.<\/p>\n \u201cWe get questions about him a lot and it\u2019s our whole team,\u201d Curry said. \u201cWe\u2019re all together in the sense of trying to figure out how to win playoff games. And we all have to make adjustments. We all have to play better, considering we\u2019re in a 3-1 hole. So there\u2019s no sense of isolating him in this situation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Golden State has already overcome one playoff deficit this postseason. After being down,\u00a02-0, in a first-round series against the Kings, Golden State found its footing. But it took Curry scoring 50 points in Game 7 for his team to win the series, the most he had ever scored in a playoff game.<\/p>\n If Poole or the rest of Curry\u2019s teammates don\u2019t offer more support, Curry may need to reach into reserves that most 35-year-olds don\u2019t have. And that means the Golden State dynasty may go out with a whimper rather than a bang. When Curry was asked after the game whether he let himself think about the larger implications of a series loss, he didn\u2019t let the reporter finish the question.<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Curry said.<\/p>\n \u201cJust a 3-1 series deficit?\u201d the reporter asked.<\/p>\n \u201cYes. Thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n