(Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)
By Huey Bergstrom
(ATLANTA) The Warriors lost a hard-fought game to the fourth seed Hawks Sunday afternoon.
Despite Steph Curry's MVP-level performance (37 points, eight rebounds two assists and two steals), the Warriors lost 117-111. The story of the loss for Golden State was free throws. The Hawk shot 45 free throws in total, making 35 of them. The Warriors defense was strong when they weren't fouling but a number of easily avoided fouls on veteran shooters like Danillo Gallinari and Lou Williams made it difficult to get the stops they needed down the stretch.
While the Dubs did out shoot the Hawks from the floor (46.7 from the field for Golden State as opposed to 43.2 for Atlanta), it wasn't enough to compensate for dismal three-point shooting (10-40 from behind the arc for the Warriors).
For a Warrirors fan, it was an incredibly frustrating game. It was close throughout, with the Hawks taking a slim advantage going into the fourth. In total, there were 16 lead changes and 17 ties before a couple drifting Lou Williams jumper's gave Atlanta a decisive edge and a number of fouls offered them a chance to increase their lead.
The Warriors started 1 for 12 behind the arc before two consecutive Andrew Wiggins' threes in the second. Despite that quick burst of offense, Wiggins wasn't able to expand the scoring from there.
Draymond Green, returning from a left finger injury, put up a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds in 36 minutes and even hit an uncontested three from the top of the arc in the third.
At the end, even the Warriors' players knew why they dropped this one.
"We were competing all game long," Golden State's Kelly Oubre Jr. said after scoring 20 points. "We just fouled too much."
This brings the Warriors to 23-27 on the year and 9-18 on the road this season. They sit at 10th in the Western Conference, having dropped all three games on this short road trip.
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