The last time the Warriors blew a lead like the one they held on Sunday night, Kelenna Azubuike was playing 48 minutes a game, not calling it from the broadcasters’ table.
Per ESPN, it’s been nearly a decade and a half since Golden State blew a 20-point lead and lost, leaving Sunday’s performance — a 21-point evaporation — as a particularly ignominious one.
It was a full-on implosion created by some horrific shooting (11-of-39 from three and a stretch of 11-straight missed shots), fourth quarter turnovers and fouls that was borne, decidedly, out of youth.
There was an erratic nature to the performance without Klay Thompson, Draymond Green or Andre Iguodala available. Jordan Poole missed all seven of his field goal attempts and was eventually benched. Jonathan Kuminga was sloppy in a multitude of ways. Moses Moody disappeared.
But Warriors head coach Steve Kerr saw it as a necessary and positive learning experience for those three, who combined for 61 minutes.
“I think it’s actually good to go through and feel it because this is what it feels like in the playoffs,” Kerr said. “This is what it feels like when you’re playing against a really good team and the game’s never over. That’s why we we stress all the details we do over and over again. It’s why we practice everything.
“We made so many mental mistakes, fouling on, coming from the wrong places to foul, not being at the rim in rotation when they went small. Our defense kind of broke down and then we let that affect our offense. So we have to learn from that and grow from it.”
Kerr said that part of having such a solid group of young players is the reality that youth equals inexperience. With that inexperience comes mistakes and pain.
“We’ve got a lot of young guys who have a lot of growth ahead of them and unfortunately, there’s a lot of pain that comes with that growth and so tonight was was painful.”