Dubs Unable to Overcome Cold Shooting from Deep in Loss to Hawks

There were two clear issues for the Warriors in Sunday night’s contest against the Atlanta Hawks: the Dubs shot 25.6 percent (10-40) from 3-point range and allowed the Atlanta Hawks, among the top-five teams in free throw shooting in the NBA, to take 45 free throws, of which they made 35. The struggles on both ends of the court ultimately lead the Warriors to a 117-111 road loss.

Stephen Curry (tailbone soreness) and Draymond Green (finger sprain) returned to action for the squad after sitting out Friday’s game against the Toronto Raptors, and each played well despite the final outcome.

Curry dropped a cool 37 points on Sunday. Like the rest of the team, he did not fair well from beyond the arc, shooting 3-for-12 on 3-pointers on the night, and yet he found other ways to score. Curry was aggressive in getting to the bucket, going 9-for-11 inside the arc as well as taking 12 free throw shots and making 10 of them.

Green was on a triple-double watch while filling the stat sheet as he frequently does, tallying 11 points, seven rebounds, 11 assists, to go with four steals.

Sunday marked the second time the Warriors dropped a game to the Hawks this season. However unlike the loss at Chase Center, just nine days ago, in which starting forward John Collins had a career night against the team, it was the Atlanta bench that hurt the Dubs in this contest.

Veteran forward Danilo Gallinari tallied a team-high 25 points with 10 rebounds. By the end of the game, the 94-percent free throw shooter collected 13 of his points from from the charity stripe on 15 attempts. Three-time Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams, who was acquired by the Hawks at the NBA Trade Deadline and was in just his third game with the team, also was in form as he added 15 points.

The effort was there for the Dubs though as the squad hung with the hot Atlanta team through most of the game before going cold in the fourth quarter.

Rookie center James Wiseman came out hot as he logged eight points in his first nine minutes of action. He made four of his first five attempts in the game. He would not score the rest of the game, but added five rebounds.

The Kansas Jayhawks duo of Kelly Oubre Jr. and Andrew Wiggins were also big contributors on Sunday as they combined for 36 points and five splashes. Oubre was second-high on the team in scoring behind Curry with 20 points, while adding 11 rebounds for a double-double and two assists, two steals and three blocks. Wiggins finished with 16 points on three treys to go with five rebounds.

After going 0-3 on the road trip through the Southeast, the Warriors return home to tip off a four-game homestand, the first of which is on Tuesday against the Milwaukee Bucks (7 p.m., NBCSBA, TNT).