Turnovers crush Warriors as they abandon pregame plan vs. Clippers

SAN FRANCISCO – Coach Steve Kerr estimated the Warriors gave up 10 possessions Sunday night at Chase Center, falling to the Los Angeles Clippers 112-104 in their first loss since winning two straight in the 2024-25 NBA season.

“Definitely did,” Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski told NBC Sports Bay Area at his locker when Kerr's number came up after the loss.

The Warriors opened the season against the Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz, two teams near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, averaging over 133 points. Headlines credit Buddy Hield's flurry of starts shooting the ball, as well as the Warriors jumping defensively and their depth as bright as their biggest stars.

Another reason the Warriors reigned supreme over the Blazers and Jazz was ball movement, as well as taking care of it.

Throughout their undefeated 6-0 preseason, the Warriors averaged 30 assists and 18 turnovers. Then in Portland and Utah to open the season, they averaged 36.5 assists and just 16.5 turnovers, totaling 40 more assists (73) than turnovers (33). Those numbers then took an ugly turn Sunday in front of the Warriors' home crowd.

Steph Curry, before exiting early in the fourth quarter with a left ankle injury, had six assists as well as six turnovers. Hield's hot shooting cooled, and he had an off night with four turnovers, three more than he had all game. Kerr used 13 players, including Lindy Waters III's 32-second run, and 10 had at least one turnover.

Kerr's five starts included 11 turnovers and 10 assists, painting a picture for the entire team. The Warriors had just 19 assists on their 38 shots, with 21 turnovers while the Clippers scored 21 points.

“Well No. 1, the Clippers were great defensively,” Kerr said. “But we got really loose with the ball and we made some careless plays. They are a very athletic team, very well coached. They were in a position to annoy us.”

Kerr blamed the Warriors for doing better under pressure. They snagged 28 steals in their first two games and came up with 10 more Sunday night, but the Clippers one-upped their 11 there. Senior guard Chris Dunn led both teams with four steals and had four Clippers multiple steals

Clippers coach Ty Lue is considered one of the best defensive coaches in the NBA, building a switch-heavy scheme. The Warriors discussed the need to cut their corner guys in their pregame film session and went five-out to make wing spacing in the corners to hit the Clippers' switches and double cuts when they chose to point-switch.

“We weren't consistent with that,” Podziemski said. “Sometimes we did it and it was good, but not consistent enough with it.”

In their first two games of the season, the Clippers forced their opponents — the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets — to turn the ball over an average of 16 times. They ranked 23rd in the NBA last season with 12.4 turnovers per game. The Warriors were often their own worst enemy on Sunday night, committing careless turnovers.

They had four turnovers in the first quarter, doubled to eight turnovers in the second quarter, seven in the third and finally just two in the fourth as their comeback could not be completed.

“A lot of turnovers were easy twos, easy dunks for them on the other end,” Podziemski said. “It takes the pressure off James [Harden] To score all the time. You see Derrick Jones hit a pair of threes, Kris Dunn is starting to feel good. There just has to be more sound collectively.”

The Warriors have one day to atone for their first loss of the season. Curry is getting an MRI Sunday night after the word “mild” or “moderate” was used to describe Curry's injury. Whether he misses any time, short time or extended time, the Warriors know they need to clean up turnovers, a problem that seems like an annual thing.

Next, the New Orleans Pelicans (2-1) return to the Chase Center on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, averaging 12 steals per game and averaging more than 18 turnovers. Podziemski could slide into the starting lineup as the Warriors' leading ball-handler if Curry misses games, and the young guard isn't worried about a sloppy game offensively.

“It was a good first test of a really good defense,” Podziemski said. “When you encounter it for the first time you just have to accept it and learn from it. New Orleans is a great, long defense, too, and we learned from that.”

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