Yardstick game leaves Warriors with short end of stick

There was a time in the opening minutes when, even though already behind, Warriors coach Steve Kerr — your typical positive thinker — believed if they picked up the pace, tightened up the defense, the Dubs would very much be in the game.

A short while later, he realized what most of us already had realized. On this Sunday night, on the road at the Staples Center, he was wrong. The only thing they were in was the wringer.

If this was to be a yardstick game for the Warriors, one that would show where at the halfway mark of this NBA season they stood, well, they were left out in the yard, holding the short end of the stick.

The final score might have been somewhat respectable, the Lakers beating the Warriors a mere 117-91. But for most of the game, the differential was around 30 points. And once — yikes — the Warriors trailed by 35.

Yes, the Warriors somehow escaped with a two-point victory when the teams played a few weeks ago. But that was fantasy — the Lakers, then at full strength and rolling, looking around and, whomp, having their pockets picked.

This was the real world, the Lakers, defending champions, after a mini-streak of four straight defeats, without their No. 2 man, Anthony Davis. Of course, LeBron James is No. 1, in the sport, much less on the Lakers.

ESPN hyped this game as LeBron vs. Steph Curry, perhaps understanding the game wouldn’t be close. But surely it never contemplated the mismatch that was broadcast nationally.

At the start of the third quarter, announcer Dave Pasch told us the Warriors are known for their ability to come back. Oh well.

“It got away from us early,” said Kerr, all too honestly. “I didn’t think we had much penetration. They sort of took us out of everything we wanted to do.”

The Warriors had a three-game winning streak going, their longest of this season — oh for those glory days when the they won 28 in a row — and we were going to find out just where the team stood in to the Lakers, the Nuggets and the Trail Blazers.

We found out, and when they play at Portland on Wednesday night we’re liable to find out much more.

Golden State mostly has relied on the remarkable Curry and his ability to toss up those 3-pointers. But the man is only a few days from his 33rd birthday. He wears down.

After several games around 30, Steph was limited to 16 points Sunday night. It happens.

“Nothing worked,” said Kerr.

The Warriors were overwhelmed on the boards, 60 rebounds to 35. The Dubs watched along with the national audience, only they were up close. If you don’t go to the basket, you’ll rarely get a missed shot.

To make matters worse, Draymond Green, who’d had a triple-double in the Warriors’ most recent win, incurred a sprained ankle in the second quarter Sunday and left the game. But as Kerr indicated, Green probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference in this one.

For those who care about such things, not only did the Lakers thump the Warriors but the Dodgers beat the Athletics and the Angels beat the Giants, giving southern California teams a sweep. But the baseball games were exhibitions, Cactus League. The Warriors’ loss was genuine.

“Draymond said it a little bit at halftime,” Curry observed. “We have to remember even when we’re playing well — we won three in a row — teams still want to beat us, and beat us bad.

“They still have a lot of memories from the last five, six years.”

What many of us will remember was what happened Sunday night against the Lakers. Oooh.