Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green. Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

Warriors choking their way out of playoff picture

By Sean Keane | Last updated Mar 11, 2026 8:54 AM ET

Even with Steph Curry sidelined with a knee injury, the Golden State Warriors should be able to win when they're up eight points with 90 seconds to play. That wasn't the case Tuesday.

Draymond Green fouled Jalen Smith with 1.4 seconds left and Smith hit both free throws to send the game to overtime. They went on to shoot 2-for-11 in OT in a 130-124 loss to the Chicago Bulls.

Golden State Warriors dropping winnable games down the stretch

The loss was Golden State's third straight, and its second in a row to teams more than 10 games below .500. Monday, they lost to the Utah Jazz, 119-116, when three Jazz players on two-way deals combined to score 22 points in the fourth quarter to sink them.

Tuesday, it was second-year forward Matas Buzelis scoring a career-high 41 points, which included a huge three-pointer to jump-start the Bulls' last-minute comeback. The Warriors missed two put-backs on one possession, fouled Buzelis on another three, made a bad turnover and blew most of their lead.

Still, the Warriors would have held on and stayed above .500 themselves if it weren't for Green fouling the Bulls' bespectacled big man on a play where Smith threw up a no-chance heave.

Draymond Green fouls Jalen Smith with 1.4 seconds left, sending the game to overtime.

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— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) March 11, 2026

Veteran Warriors letting down their teammates

The less-heralded Warriors came through in the Bulls' game, where veterans like Green let them down. Besides his last-second foul, Green was -19 on the game, shooting 4-for-5 from deep but allowing Buzelis to run wild. Al Horford shot 5-for-18. Meanwhile, two-way player LJ Cryer and converted two-way player Pat Spencer combined for 34 points and six three-pointers.

PAT SPENCER AND THE CROWD GOES WILD

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— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) March 11, 2026

Golden State still believes Steph Curry will return this season, but it's starting to look like it might not matter. The team dropped below the Los Angeles Clippers into ninth place in the Western Conference, only 1.5 games ahead of the 10th-place Portland Trail Blazers.

It might not be worth it to rush Curry back. If the team can't put away teams like the Bulls and Jazz, will they really be able to win two play-in games?

The only consolation is that the Warriors can't drop out of the play-in entirely, sitting 8.5 games above 11th place. Still, if the Warriors had any illusions of making a run out of the play-in like they did last season, these last two games should be a rude wake-up call.

Sean Keane

Sean Keane is a sportswriter and a comedian based in Oakland, California, with experience covering the NBA, MLB, NFL and Ice Cube’s three-on-three basketball league, The Big 3. He’s written for Comedy Central’s “Another Period,” ESPN the Magazine, and Audible. com

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