LOS ANGELES ( Associated Press) — Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have dominated their opponents through open 3-pointers and flawless shooting.
But, in the final chapter of a grueling season, the defending NBA champions didn’t have the big shots when they needed them.
Curry and Thompson shot only 6 of 26 3-pointers in Friday’s 122-101 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of the second round.
The Lakers advanced to the Western Conference Finals, while the Warriors were eliminated in the post-season in May for the first time since 2014.
It is also the first time that the trio of Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green have not reached the NBA Finals while all three are healthy.
“We came up short, which is strange,” admitted Green. “At the end of the day, they (Currie and Thompson) missed a few shots. They’re human.”
The Warriors finished 13 of 48 3-pointers. Coach Steve Kerr said that even though his team got some open shots early on, they could not make those shots.
“We were in a rush. I thought we forced things in the first quarter and missed some open shots that could have gotten us into a better rhythm,” Kerr said. “I give credit to the Lakers. Dennis Schroder as the starter put pressure on us and made it difficult for us to pass the ball.
But Kerr indicated that the series was decided in Games 1 and 4, which the Warriors lost. In a 104–101 loss in Game 4, Curry and Thompson made just 6 of 23 3-pointers.
The Lakers became determined not to let Curry score and harassed him on defense. Golden State also had no answers to Anthony Davis and LeBron James, who dominated in the paint.
Curry and Thompson were 16 of 33 3-pointers in the Warriors’ two wins, but just 31 of 97 in their four losses.
The Warriors lost the first two games of the first round series to the Kings, but advanced to seven games. This meant that Golden State had no rest before facing the Lakers and finally ran out of fuel.
“The team was probably maxed out,” Kerr confirmed. “We were out of the playoffs almost all year. A great win in the first round and fighting the Lakers in this series puts us in the top eight teams in the league. That’s probably where we should be.”
