Golden State Warriors lost their three-match regular series 1-2 against the Blazers after a tight game on Wednesday night. The low-scoring game saw an expected neck-to-neck fight, which the Blazers won 108-106. None of the teams allowed the opponents to take a 30-point quarter, and it almost went into OT.

Given the Warriors have a very tough few games waiting ahead after the All-star break, this loss was a sting. First, a humiliating loss against the Lakers, then slipping the victory to the Blazers, and now standing against the blazing Suns in tomorrow’s game, GSW is in for trouble.

Coach Steve Kerr has a clear message for his team

The game saw Steph Curry’s 35-point performance go to waste. He scored five three-pointers and also managed three steals, but the result went against his efforts. Only three players apart from him made it to the double figures.

In the post-game interview, a dejected Steve Kerr said in a humble tone, “We just need more scoring in general from anybody other than Steph. He’s generating everything for us on or off the ball. Obviously, without Kelly tonight, took away one of our best scorers. So, we don’t necessarily need scoring from one position. We just need people to step up night in and night out, provide some extra scoring for us, so we’re not relying solely on Steph.”

This clearly suggested that it is high time the Warriors bench starts performing because it is too much to expect Curry to always produce game-winning performances.

Where did the Warriors lack against the Blazers?

For GSW, it was clear that Marquese Chriss (lower leg) would miss the game, but the shocker came in the name of Kelly Oubre Jr. The 25-YO prolific scorer for the Warriors hurt his wrist in a scrimmage injury before the night of the game. He went for a dunk, lost the balance, and fell on his elbows. This last moment injury cost the Warriors big and leveled them against an already injury-struck Blazers who played without center Jusuf Nurkic and guard CJ McCollum.

Still, the Warriors were successful in taming the star point guard Damian Lillard, but they failed to stop anyone else. Vet Carmelo Anthony gave a stellar 22 point performance, while the starters complemented it. 

Andrew Wiggins again showed signs of inconsistency, and James Wiseman proved futile. As if all that was not enough, Damion Lee, who entered the last moment as a substitution to Kent Bazemore, missed his buzzer-beater three that led to the eventual loss.

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