Warriors molding identity, building momentum after eye-opening road trip originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Returning from a six-game road trip where they dropped two straight games before coming back to San Francisco, the Warriors laid an egg and wasted 38 points from Steph Curry to open a five-game homestand with a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 21. 

Those five games where it felt like the Warriors needed to win four, ended with more losses (three) than wins (two). But there were plenty of signs of life in the finale, which wound up being a 12-point loss to the nearly unbeatable Oklahoma City Thunder. The Warriors found a new gear and scored 44 points in the third quarter against the Thunder. They even took the lead three and a half minutes into the fourth quarter. 

The opening scenes to the Pat Spencer movie that is playing in front of our eyes began rolling in the second half of that loss to the Thunder when he scored 15 of his then new career-high 17 points. There was a bigger story to that loss, too. 

Jimmy Butler did not play the entire second half, making the Warriors’ comeback attempt that much more impressive. An injured Butler also is a bigger deal than two positive quarters playing the best team in basketball. The Warriors already didn’t have Curry, who sustained a quad contusion two games prior in a bad loss to the Kevin Durant-less Houston Rockets. 

Then it was Draymond Green’s turn to limp down the tunnel and back to the Warriors’ locker room in Philadelphia when his right foot/ankle was rolled on in the second quarter against the 76ers. Doomsday looked right around the corner for a team that went on the road with an 11-11 record and could have come home three games under .500 if a depleted Warriors squad dropped three straight.

That isn’t the story as the Warriors now have four days between their next game. The Warriors again responded to adversity by picking themselves up and fighting even harder, winning two of their three games on the road, and losing the other by one point in the final second.

“You can feel the energy,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Sunday night in Chicago. “We’re playing with a different level of energy the last few nights.” 

Golden State’s battery pack has been on the back of the Wayne Gretzky of college lacrosse. 

Spencer followed his huge game against the Thunder by scoring 16 points – 12 in the fourth quarter – with four rebounds and four assists in a 99-98 loss against the 76ers while letting the whole world know he is that motherf–ker. Kerr rewarded Spencer by giving him his first career start and he was even better, finishing with a new career-high 19 points – and another 12 in the fourth quarter – in a huge upset win against the Cleveland Cavaliers where the Warriors were without Curry, Butler and Green, and only had 10 healthy players. 

That kind of performance brought Kerr and Gui Santos into the Pat “That Motherf–ker” Spencer lore at the postgame podium. Spencer started again Sunday in the Warriors’ 123-91 win against the Chicago Bulls where they never trailed and was a plus-30 in 27 minutes. 

Everything about Spencer is what Kerr wants from his team regardless of status as a star, as a former top draft pick or as someone who has earned it all like his 29-year-old point guard on a two-way contract: Tough, fearless and ready to attack the moment. 

The Warriors averaged 340 passes per game during their three-game road trip, increasing the number each game. Their goal always is at least 300. Spencer led the Warriors with total passes in all three games, averaging 58. Those kinds of numbers indicate the kind of offensive flow Kerr dreams of. 

Same with the defensive stats the Warriors strung together in that span. 

Defensively, the Warriors held their opponent to under 100 points in all three games on the road and have done so in four of their past five games in total. The 76ers, Cavs and Bulls averaged 94.7 points per game. Playing on a string, the Warriors’ defense held them 38.4-percent shooting and 25.8 percent from 3-point range. 

“All in all, I think we’re finally starting to figure out who we are,” Butler said Sunday night. “It’s never too early to do that. It’s never too late either. So we just need to keep stringing these things together.” 

Just like that, the Warriors have the third-best defensive rating in the NBA (110.7) after producing a 99.0 defensive rating on their 2-1 road trip. 

They’re becoming healthier at the right time, and a handful of secondary players have newfound life. Butler returned Sunday from knee soreness after missing the last two games and was as good as always. He was a plus-29 in 29 minutes with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists, taking over and putting the game out of reach in the fourth quarter.

Resting Green and Horford on Sunday was considered precautionary. Both are expected to play Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves. So is Curry. De’Anthony Melton made his season debut from ACL surgery on Thursday in Philadelphia and needed two more hands to wipe the smile off his face after playing 21 minutes off the bench and scoring 14 points. 

The Warriors are taking Monday and Tuesday off. They will then practice Wednesday and Thursday ahead of Friday’s game, and play six games over the next 20 days, as well as nine the rest of the calendar year. 

Instead of dropping below .500, the Warriors now are one game above. At 13-12, the Warriors are the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference, making them four games back of the No. 4 seed and three back of the No. 6 seed.

Going on the road could have turned to catastrophe for the Warriors. The outcome was an identity being molded and momentum mounting with the hardest part of their schedule behind them. 

“We’re starting to feel like the team we’re supposed to be,” Kerr said. “But we have to back that up and follow the momentum we have right now with a good stretch.”

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