The Chase Center crowd didn't see this one coming. Honestly, when you have Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler both dropping 30-pieces, you usually walk away with a win. But Sunday night was different. The score of the Golden State Warriors game ended in a frustrating 124-111 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, snapping a three-game home winning streak that had fans feeling pretty good about where this team was headed.
It was a weird night in San Francisco.
The Warriors started like they were going to blow the roof off the place, going up 14-4 early. Curry was cooking. He looked like the prime version of himself, but the momentum just... evaporated. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Dubs looked gassed, and the Hawks' bench was treating the floor like a playground.
Breaking Down the Score of the Golden State Warriors Game
The final tally doesn't quite tell the whole story of how sloppy things got. Golden State (21-19) basically ran into a buzzsaw named Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jalen Johnson. Alexander-Walker put up 24, but it was those back-to-back triples right before the half that felt like a gut punch. The Warriors went into the locker room down 59-53 and never truly recovered their rhythm.
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The Stars Showed Up, But the Help Didn't
- Stephen Curry: 31 points (11-21 FG). He also passed the Joe and Kobe Bryant father-son scoring record with his dad, Dell. That’s a cool bit of history on a night that otherwise felt pretty bleak.
- Jimmy Butler: 30 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists. This was his fourth 30-point game of the season. He did most of his damage in the first half, keeping the Warriors afloat when the three-point shooting went ice cold.
- The Bench: This is where it gets ugly. While the Hawks had six players in double figures, the Warriors' supporting cast struggled. Aside from the big two, the rest of the team was a combined 7-for-31 from deep.
Luke Kennard coming off the bench for Atlanta and hitting six threes? That's the kind of thing that drives Steve Kerr crazy. The Warriors are currently sitting 8th in the West, and these are the games they’re going to look back on in April if they're fighting for a play-in spot.
Why the Defense Collapsed
You've gotta look at the size difference. The Hawks played long and aggressive. Every time Curry or Butler tried to navigate a screen, there was a hand in their face. Dyson Daniels had a layup in the third that pushed the lead to 12, and while the Warriors responded with a quick 10-0 run, they just couldn't sustain it. Draymond Green, who has been trying to find his shot lately, couldn't keep his three-pointer streak alive either. He'd hit one in two straight games, but the third one just wasn't in the cards.
Basically, the Warriors are "too short to contest and too slow to get around screens" right now. That's a quote from a frustrated fan on Reddit, but it honestly feels accurate when you watch them try to guard athletic wings like Jalen Johnson.
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Looking at the Numbers
If you want to know why the score of the Golden State Warriors game went the way it did, look at the effective field goal percentage. Atlanta was sitting at 63% for a large chunk of the night. You aren't winning many NBA games in 2026 when your opponent is shooting that efficiently. The Warriors finished at 48%, which is a recipe for a double-digit loss every single time.
What's Next for the Dubs?
There’s no time to sulk. The schedule doesn't get easier. They’ve got the Portland Trail Blazers coming into town on Tuesday, January 13th. Portland is right on their heels at 19-21, so this is basically a must-win to keep that 8th seed secure. Deni Avdija is averaging over 26 points lately, so the perimeter defense has to wake up.
If you’re tracking the standings, the Warriors are currently 12 games behind the first-place Thunder. The dream of a top-four seed is fading, but they’re still 2.5 games clear of falling out of the play-in entirely.
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To turn things around, the coaching staff needs to find a way to get more out of the role players. Relying on Curry and Butler to combine for 61 points every night isn't a sustainable strategy, especially when the defense is giving up 124. Keep an eye on the trade rumors too—word around the arena is that Mike Dunleavy might be looking to shake things up before the deadline.
Keep a close eye on the injury report for Tuesday's game. Seth Curry is still out with that thigh issue, which thins out the backcourt rotation even more. The Warriors are currently 9.5-point favorites against Portland, but after Sunday's performance, nothing feels like a "sure thing" at Chase Center right now. Focus on the defensive rotations in the first quarter; if they don't lock down early, it could be another long night.