Warriors at Hawks
The return of superstar Stephen Curry failed to magically fix all the problems for the Golden State Warriors, who are still looking for more flow on the offensive end. The Warriors will try to bounce back when they visit the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
Curry (groin) returned from an 11-game absence on Saturday at Detroit and scored 27 points on 10-of-21 shooting in 37 minutes, but Golden State still fell 111-102. "I've had great games after missing substantial time before," Curry told reporters after the loss. "Tonight was not like that. It was just more being really antsy in times when I got the ball in my hands, feeling like I had to make something happen. I didn't really force much, it was just the timing was off. ... Everybody was doing a little bit too much sacrificing and that happens at times when your lineups change and things like that, but we'll adjust back to how we normally play. Everybody will continue to be aggressive and confident and we'll get back to Warrior basketball." The Hawks are losers of two straight and 12 of their last 14 after getting trounced 124-109 at Oklahoma City on Saturday. Atlanta is last in the NBA in scoring defense while surrendering an average of 118.1 points and allowed the Thunder to go off at 52.3 percent on Saturday.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCS Bay Area (Golden State), FS Southeast (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (15-9): Curry's rusty beginning aside, Golden State coach Steve Kerr placed the blame for Saturday's loss squarely on his own shoulders. "I did not like our offense tonight," Kerr told reporters. "I've gotta do a better job, honestly. Tonight was probably a game I could mark down as one of my worst performances as a coach, honestly. All in all, I've got do a better job than I've done here the first couple of months of the season. This is ... just gotta get better. We've gotta get better shots. We gotta get more spacing, get better flow." The Warriors went 6-of-26 from 3-point range in Saturday's setback and dropped their last six on the road.
ABOUT THE HAWKS (5-18): Atlanta is just trying to develop its young talent this season and got another encouraging performance on Saturday from 2017 first-round pick John Collins. The 21-year-old power forward delivered a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds and is averaging 14.9 points on 58.3 percent shooting and 6.8 rebounds in eight games since making his season debut on Nov. 17. The Hawks could use more from 2018 first-round pick Trae Young, who struggled to 4-of-15 from the floor in Saturday's setback and is shooting 33.3 percent over the last 10 games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Warriors PF Draymond Green (toe) sat out the last eight games and is unlikely to play on Monday.
2. Hawks PG Jeremy Lin (ankle) sat out the last two games and is day-to-day.
3. Golden State extended its winning streak in the series to eight straight with a 110-103 home win on Nov. 13.