Golden State ready to embrace challenge
OAKLAND, Calif. — Still feeling the sting of Monday night’s Game 1 loss, a smile strangely sneaked onto the left side of Stephen Curry’s face as he started to talk about the rest of the Western Conference finals against Oklahoma City.
“It’ll be a different situation for us to try to bounce back from having a deficit at this point in a series,” Curry said. “I think it’s fun to be able to have this opportunity to come back, show what we’re made of and show our resiliency.”
Draymond Green struck a similar tone after Tuesday’s practice.
“I was telling the guys when we look at our championship run (last year), we talk about being down 2-1 to Memphis or being down 2-1 to Cleveland,” Green said. “We never talk about beating the Pelicans 4-0 or beating the Rockets 4-1. You talk about the trying times. So right now is one of those times.”
If the Warriors have proven anything while winning a championship and following it up with the NBA’s best-ever regular season, it’s that they embrace challenges. They created a brand new one by blowing a 14-point, third-quarter lead Monday night.
The Warriors lost for just the seventh time in 100 homes games under head coach Steve Kerr (they’re now 45-3 at Oracle Arena this season), and they lost a postseason series opener for the first time in his twoyear tenure.
“We won so many games that a lot of our flaws are overlooked,” sixth man Andre Iguodala said. “When you get into situations like this, if you don’t correct those flaws, they start to glare. …
“As basketball players, we’ve got to heighten the sense of urgency, ball possession, pace and flow. It’s good to get hit in the mouth, because that’s when it really shows.”
The Warriors haven’t lost consecutive games since Games 2 and 3 of the 2015 NBA Finals. They responded by winning the next three games by an average of 14 points to win the franchise’s first title in 40 years.
They lost nine games during their record-setting, 73-win regular season. They responded by winning the games immediately following those losses by an average of 14.6 points.
They lost Game 3 of their first-round series to the Rockets — and won the next game by 27 points. They lost Game 3 of their second-round series to Portland — and won the next game by seven, thanks to Curry’s epic performance in overtime.
But as Kerr knows from his playing days, the playoffs usually offer fresh tests — such as this Game 1 loss to the Thunder.
“I would prefer to go 16-0 and win the championship with 30-point games every time,” he said Tuesday. “The reality is, this is what it’s about. I was part of five championship teams as a player, and it was never easy. Every team I was on that won a title lost at least one home game during the playoffs. So it happens.
“There’s a reason we pour champagne on each other when we win: It’s hard, it’s a grind, and this is a great reminder of that.”
As the defending champions, the Warriors dealt with the pressure of every opponent’s best shot during the regular season. They added to the pressure by proclaiming that they wanted to chase history and break the single-season win mark.