NBA preseason ends with loss to Clippers – NBC Sports Bay Area and California
SAN FRANCISCO – The 2025 NBA preseason is over and everyone can breathe a sigh of relief, including the Warriors.
To put the finishing touch on the preseason, the Warriors battled through all four quarters, but too many mistakes cost them a 106-103 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night at Chase Center.
Steph Curry’s 20 points led the Warriors, and his rookie teammate continued to make a strong impression. Will Richard started his second straight game and made an impact on both sides of the ball. The 2025 second-round NBA Draft pick from Florida scored 13 points, but on 5-of-14 shooting and 3-of-10 from three, adding four rebounds and three steals.
Neither team could consistently buy a bucket from beyond the arc. The Warriors (8 of 34) made 23.5% of their 3-point attempts, and while the Clippers made 15 3-pointers, they converted at a modest 32.6% clip.
The Warriors were without several key players, including Jimmy Butler, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Seth Curry and De’Anthony Melton.
Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ preseason finale.
Fear of injuries
Health will be top of mind for the Warriors all season. The last thing they, or any team, wants to see is a player falling in the final preseason tuneup. But just two and a half minutes into Friday night’s game, Brandin Podziemski went down hard and added to his concerns just once on his feet.
Podziemski collided with Kobe Brown as he dribbled at midcourt. He remained on the court for an extended period and then very carefully limped off the court and into the Warriors’ locker room. Podziemski tried to walk twice but had to stop immediately before finally making it down the tunnel with director of sports and performance medicine Rick Celebrini.
While the Warriors deemed Podziemski’s return questionable due to a left hip contusion, he returned to the court at the 3:50 mark of the first quarter. Podziemski wasted his first shot attempt, a 3-pointer from the left wing, with just 25 seconds left in the first quarter, but he also had three turnovers in just six minutes.
Podziemski played 20 minutes and scored five points on 2-of-4 shooting. He didn’t collect his usual rebounds or assists. His six turnovers were a team high, one more than Draymond Green’s five, and Podziemski’s minus-9 was the worst plus/minus among starters.
The turnover trend continues
Warriors players often joke that they have three players allowed to turn the ball over: Curry, Green and Butler. Without Butler, that gave only two Golden State players leeway on Friday night. Yet the Warriors had already totaled 14 turnovers at halftime, and Curry (one) and Green (two) had only three of them.
Seven players not named Curry or Green had at least one turnover. Podziemski had the most of the group with four. Once the regular season begins in a few days, the Warriors simply can’t be that sloppy, especially in games where they lose at least one of their key veterans.
The Warriors entered Friday averaging 21.8 turnovers per game, lower only than the Brooklyn Nets (24) and Indiana Pacers (23.7) in the preseason. The 14 turnovers in the first half gave the Clippers 18 points. Luckily for Golden State, the Clippers totaled 15 turnovers in the first half for 16 Warriors points.
Although the Warriors took much better care of the ball in the second half with nine more turnovers, they finished the preseason with at least 20 turnovers (23 on Friday) in all five preseason games.
Curry does its part
When the fourth quarter began, the Warriors were down 11 points. The deficit was cut to six points when Curry took over for the remainder of the game, and he was the main reason the Warriors were able to get within one point with eight and a half minutes left.
When Curry left the game, he led the Warriors in points (20), assists (five) and plus/minus (plus-7). He was also second in rebounds (four). Curry made four 3-pointers in 30 minutes and only one other Warrior made more than one.
It’s true that the Warriors were behind on multiple players. As were the Clippers. There will be nights when even in year 17 the Warriors will need Curry to be a one-man show.
With the preseason over and the regular season lurking in the shadows, it can’t happen too often starting Tuesday night in Los Angeles.
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