SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors took one of the NBA’s top teams to the brink Thursday night, only to watch it slip away once again while their superstar sat in street clothes. In a brutal 118-111 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the undermanned Warriors showed exactly why they are not a playoff team without Stephen Curry.
Cleveland, playing its third game in four nights, closed the game with 18 of the final 26 points. The Cavs leaned on the closing punch of Donovan Mitchell (25 points) and strong support from Max Strus, who drained six threes—including two in the final two minutes—for 24 points. James Harden also made his presence felt late as Cleveland shot a sizzling 51.2% from the field and 44.4% from deep (16-of-36).
The Warriors, meanwhile, got heroic efforts from unlikely heroes. Gui Santos dropped 25 points (9-of-14 FG) and looked unfazed by a recent pelvic contusion, while Brandin Podziemski added 25 points of his own, including clutch threes that briefly sparked a comeback. Yet even with 23 points off 15 Cleveland turnovers and a dozen extra shot attempts, Golden State simply lacked the firepower to finish.
The turning point came early in the fourth. With the Cavs leading 94-87, Dennis Schroder delivered a hard foul on LJ Cryer from behind under the basket, drawing a flagrant foul and a quick technical. The sequence ignited the Chase Center crowd and the Warriors. Cryer knocked down three technical free throws, Podziemski hit a pair of threes, and Golden State ripped off a 9-0 run to take their first lead since early in the game at 98-94 with under eight minutes left.
Multiple technicals flew in a chaotic 30-second span—including ones on Draymond Green and Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson—but the momentum didn’t last. Santos buried a corner three to put the Warriors up 103-100 with under four minutes remaining. That was their final lead. Mitchell answered immediately with a triple, and Cleveland outscored Golden State 18-8 the rest of the way to seal the win and clinch a playoff spot.
This defeat dropped the Warriors to 36-41 — their 18th loss in 27 games without Curry — and guaranteed only the second sub-.500 finish in Steve Kerr’s 12 seasons as head coach. It also marked their third straight loss.
The harsh reality is clear: without Curry, this roster is not built for the postseason. Young standouts like Santos and Podziemski showed fight and skill, but they cannot consistently generate the offense or close games against elite teams the way Curry can. The Warriors had no answer for Cleveland’s closing punch, and similar shortcomings have defined their season-long slide.
The one sliver of hope? Curry is reportedly targeting a return on Sunday against the Houston Rockets after missing his 27th straight game with runner’s knee. He has been ramping up with 5-on-5 scrimmages and could rejoin the lineup for the final stretch of the regular season.
With only a handful of games left, the Warriors’ focus shifts entirely to integrating Curry—if he’s cleared—and seeing whether a late spark can salvage anything from this disappointing year. But Thursday’s collapse at home against a fatigued but superior Cavs team delivered the clearest message yet: without No. 30 healthy and dominant, the Warriors are simply not a playoff team. The standings don’t lie, and neither does this latest embarrassing letdown.