3:44 AM
The Golden State Warriors were feeling good going into their game against the Pacers. They held a home run derby the day before to boost their spirits after a tough road trip and were ready to build on their win over the Pistons.
All of the positive energy they had was lost as soon as they stepped on the court against Indiana.
The game was the third-largest upset in the Steve Kerr era. Kerr took all the responsibility.
Kerr blamed himself, number one. I don't think I prepared the team well for the game.
The Pacers were without four of their top scorers, making them easier to look over. They were 41.9 percent from 3-point range.
Kerr blamed himself for Golden State's final defensive possession of regulation, when Justin Holiday escaped Stephen Curry's defense with just enough time to catch the ball at the right elbow of the 3-point line and knock down the shot to tie the score.
"I'm normally a fouler, and I take the hit on that one, too," Kerr said of not telling his players to foul Holiday or Jackson, who assisted Holiday on the shot. This was my night to stink it up.
Curry didn't place all of the onus on his coach on the play in which he was the primary defender on Holiday.
Curry looked at the ball for a short time. Holiday made a good shot. I know there's a discussion about it. I was a step slow and that one gave him a wide-open look. I got caught looking while trying to guard the inbounds.
Curry said that Kerr's character made him assume responsibility for Thursday's loss.
"I think that's part of our culture," Kerr said. We all look at ourselves, what we could have done differently.
The Warriors shot poorly Thursday. They were just 9-of-42 from the outside, including 1-of-9 in overtime. The eight missed 3s in overtime were the second-most in an overtime over the past 25 seasons.
Curry was 6-of-16 on 3-pointers and scored a game-high 39 points. The rest of the Warriors went 3-of-26 from behind the 3-point line.
Curry said he approved of nearly every 3-pointer they took. He blamed the Warriors' inability to execute.
Curry said that they didn't execute well on simple stuff that is their bread and butter. We didn't execute the play that I called. It was against the law. We have to keep each other accountable. We have the ability to control the little things. We can't control what happens, but we can control what happens.
Klay Thompson and Iguodala are going to rest and Curry is going to play 44 minutes in the second night of a back-to-back.
Kerr has less than 24 hours to get his team prepared and fix what he didn't do Thursday.
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