{"id":652453,"date":"2026-03-11T09:44:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T09:44:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/652453\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T09:44:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T09:44:25","slug":"warriors-lose-to-tanking-team-again-this-time-against-the-bulls-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/652453\/","title":{"rendered":"Warriors lose to tanking team again \u2014 this time against the Bulls"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SAN<\/p>\n

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA \u2013 MARCH 10: Brandin Podziemski #2 of the Golden State Warriors passes around Josh Giddey #3 of the Chicago Bulls during the first half at Chase Center…<\/p>\n

SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 One day was all it took for the Warriors to top their worst loss of the season.<\/p>\n

After failing to pull out a win while the Jazz<\/a> rested their best players in crunch time on Monday, the Warriors returned home Tuesday and once again proved incapable of beating a tanking team<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Warriors were at the foul line with the lead in the final moments of regulation but still couldn\u2019t finish off a 130-124 overtime loss to the lowly Bulls, who outscored them in 12-6 in the extra period.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just couldn\u2019t close it out,\u201d coach Steve Kerr said. \u201cThey were the better team in OT.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gui Santos, Kristaps Porzingis, LJ Cryer and Pat Spencer all scored 17 points to lead the Warriors, but Golden State had no answer for Matas Buzelis, who finished with 41 points on 16-of-28 shooting. Josh Giddey added 21 points, 17 assists and 13 rebounds for a triple-double.<\/p>\n

Back-to-back losses to the Bulls and Jazz amounted to a serious case of whiplash after strong efforts from Golden State to beat the Rockets and threaten the Thunder on the road last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth very winnable games,\u201d Kerr said. \u201cHad the lead late tonight. Obviously one we should\u2019ve had. But this is how the NBA is, especially when you\u2019re beaten up. Games are going to be tight. You\u2019ve got to finish. And we haven\u2019t finished either of the past two nights.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Brandin<\/p>\n

Brandin Podziemski looks to pass the ball while guarded by Josh Giddey. Getty Images<\/p>\n

What it means<\/p>\n

Kerr<\/a> has been on the cusp of 600 wins since the Warriors beat the Rockets in Houston last week. He hasn\u2019t been able to break through against two tanking teams.<\/p>\n

Even with the beleaguered state of their roster<\/a>, the Warriors\u2019 past two losses will go down as two of their worst of the season. Two of the easiest games left on Golden State\u2019s schedule just happened to line up as their only stretch this season with a home-road back-to-back.<\/p>\n

No wonder the Warriors looked out of gas for most of the night.<\/p>\n

The loss dropped Golden State below .500 for the first time since it was 14-15 on Dec. 20.<\/p>\n

The Warriors (32-33) now sit a half game behind the Clippers (32-32), ninth in the Western Conference.<\/p>\n

Turning point<\/p>\n

Once again, the Warriors lost the game at the foul line.<\/p>\n

After two dreadful performances from the stripe, the Warriors shot it far better against the Bulls, converting 16-of-18 attempts in regulation. But holding a 117-116 lead with 8 seconds left, LJ Cryer was only able to convert one of his two free throws.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou make the free throw, probably a different outcome of the game,\u201d said Cryer, who tied with Spencer for a team-best plus-18 off the bench.<\/p>\n

\"Draymond<\/p>\n

Draymond Green celebrates a 3-pointer against the Bulls. AP<\/p>\n

On the other end, Draymond Green<\/a> fouled Jalen Smith on a desperation attempt that sent him to the line with 1.4 seconds left. Smith sank both of his free throws to send the game to overtime.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe got his hand on his body,\u201d Kerr said. \u201cIt was a foul. I\u2019m sure he\u2019d like to have that one back. He just got his hand in the wrong spot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Playing their second game in two nights in as many cities, the Warriors were sluggish from the outset and the crowd inside Chase Center reciprocated with an atmosphere to match. But the lower bowl rose to its feet as Golden State erased a 13-point deficit.<\/p>\n

When the Bulls forced overtime, fans streamed for the exits. They apparently already knew how this one was going to end.<\/p>\n

MVP: Gary Payton II<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-2 Payton was a constant presence around the basket and finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double. The 11 rebounds led the Warriors, including a team-best three on the offensive glass, all of which Payton cleaned up for putback dunks.<\/p>\n

Stat of the game: Zero<\/p>\n

That is the number of minutes De\u2019Anthony Melton<\/a> played against the Bulls, despite the Warriors limiting his action Monday at Utah with the intent of him playing in the back-to-back.<\/p>\n

\"Brandin<\/p>\n

Brandin Podziemski drives to the basket against the double team. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Likewise, the Warriors sat both Porzingis and Al Horford against the Jazz so that both could play Tuesday against the Bulls. It\u2019s no sure thing that either game hinged on the three players\u2019 availability, but in the end, both ended in stinging losses.<\/p>\n

Kerr said afterward that Melton tweaked his hamstring\/groin late against the Jazz and had it act up overnight, preventing him from playing against Chicago.<\/p>\n

Before the game, Kerr said he was hopeful Melton could establish that he was up to the task.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need him,\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019s obviously one of our best players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Up next<\/p>\n

The Warriors host Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves on Friday in their last home game until March 25. They hit the road for five games, including two more sets of back-to-backs, beginning Sunday against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n

The most important date for the Warriors this week, however, is Wednesday. That is when Steph Curry (knee), who missed his 15th straight game, is set to be re-evaluated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA \u2013 MARCH 10: Brandin Podziemski #2 of the Golden State Warriors passes around Josh Giddey…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":652454,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3786],"tags":[869,375,7,860,329,559,200,479,164,4025,4024,870,292,2291,423,965,304,871,17311,973,6,868,932,863,5592,308,255],"class_list":["post-652453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golden-state-warriors","tag-al-horford","tag-anthony-edwards","tag-basketball","tag-brandin-podziemski","tag-chicago-bulls","tag-clippers","tag-draymond-green","tag-golden-state","tag-golden-state-warriors","tag-goldenstate","tag-goldenstatewarriors","tag-gui-santos","tag-houston","tag-jalen-smith","tag-jazz","tag-josh-giddey","tag-knicks","tag-kristaps-porzingis","tag-lj-cryer","tag-matas-buzelis","tag-nba","tag-pat-spencer","tag-steph-curry","tag-steve-kerr","tag-the-jazz","tag-timberwolves","tag-warriors"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116209905115104892","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=652453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/652454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=652453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=652453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=652453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}