Steve Kerr claimed the Golden State Warriors defense has been "bad for six or seven games" after his team lost 119-104 to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Warriors are 42-16 for the season with a 72.4 win percentage, but they have now lost three of their last four games, having gone on a nine-game winning streak prior to that.
Kerr questioned his team's defensive work before Monday's loss, yet that did not help the Warriors against the Clippers, who scored 54 points from in the paint.
After the defeat, Kerr did not hold back in his criticism.
"I was doing a lot of yelling," Kerr told reporters. "The main thing is that our defense has been bad. It's been bad for six or seven games now. It's hard to win in this league when you're looking like we are, defensively, with so many holes in our games.
"They went right around us. It's been something different every night.
"When you can't count on the connection defensively and the competitiveness and the fire, every night is going to be a little different depending on what talent you're going against."
Despite their recent troubles, the Warriors still have the second-best defensive record in the Western Conference when it comes to points allowed per game, with only the Dallas Mavericks (103.1) allowing fewer than Golden State (103.5).
However, Kerr believes that the statistic is skewed because of the Warriors' strong start to the season.
"I know we are number one in defense," he said, making air quote signs. "But we're not right now. Those numbers are inflated by what we did earlier in the season.
"Over the last seven games, we are probably bottom five, if not dead last in defensive rating.
"It's up to us. We're going to have to find the effort, the communication, connection, to get back to doing the things we were doing before."
Kerr has a point. The Warriors have allowed 113.3 points per game over the last seven games, while so far in February, their opponents are averaging 51.4 points in the paint.
That has seen the Warriors drop from the fourth-best team in the league to fifth defensively in the paint for the season, and over the seven-game span this month they sit in 21st place in that aspect.
Seth Curry's 23-point arrival helped the Brooklyn Nets snap their 11-game skid in a 109-85 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday.
Curry landed four three-pointers with seven rebounds and five assists while fellow debutant Andre Drummond added 11 points, with Ben Simmons still out despite being present for the pre-game shootaround.
The Nets led from start to finish but were propelled by a 54-37 second half with LaMarcus Aldridge scoring 19 points with eight rebounds off the bench.
Bruce Brown had season-high returns with 19 points, six assists and five steals for the new-look Nets who improved to 30-27.
De'Andre Fox had a game-high 26 points for the Kings who were limited to 34.4 per cent shooting (31-of-90) overall.
Steph stars but Warriors lose
Stephen Curry made eight three-pointers in a 33-point haul but it was not enough to get the Golden State Warriors past the Los Angeles Clippers who won 119-104. Terance Mann scored 25 points with seven rebounds and six assists for the triumphant Clippers.
Julius Randle had a triple-double with 30 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists but he was overshadowed by Rookie of the Year contender Josh Giddey as the Oklahoma City Thunder won 127-123 in overtime. Giddey also had a triple-double with 28 points including three triples along with 11 rebounds and 12 assists.
Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic starred with 26 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists as the Denver Nuggets brushed aside the Orlando Magic 121-111, while Donovan Mitchell had 30 points with six rebounds and seven assists in the Utah Jazz's 135-101 victory over the Houston Rockets.
Middleton loses radar as Bucks go down
Khris Middleton almost had a triple-double but shot poorly, going three-of-15 from the field and one-of-eight from beyond the arc as the Milwaukee Bucks went down 122-107 to the Portland Trail Blazers. Anfernee Simons scored 31 points for the Blazers, while Middleton had 16 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists as the Bucks lost in Giannis Antetokounmpo's absence due to a sore ankle.
Seth Curry is excited about the weapons at the disposal of the Brooklyn Nets when they get their stars back on court after helping snap their 11-game skid in 109-85 win over the Sacramento Kings on Monday.
Curry top scored for the new-look Nets with 23 points including three three-pointers, while fellow new addition Andre Drummond added 11 points.
Brooklyn were without Kevin Durant (MCL sprain), Kyrie Irving (unable to play in New York due to vaccine mandate) and new acquisition Ben Simmons (conditioning).
"I didn't have to see what we did tonight to know the kind of style we'll play," Curry told reporters after the game.
"We'll have so many weapons out there - offensively and defensively. It's going to be a lot of fun to play.
"It's been a while since I got up and down the floor like that and played with that kind of pace, even in the halfcourt."
The win ends Brooklyn's slump that saw them go from a record of 29-16 to 30-27, but there is renewed hope with a fresh line-up after last week's trade moves that saw Curry, Drummond and Simmons join from the Philadelphia 76ers.
Drummond added: "We have a great group of guys. Guys that are missing right now, we got to wait for them to get healthy, but once everybody gets back I think we'll be very, very good and make a very good push in the playoffs."
Nets head coach Steve Nash had said pre-game that there was no official timeline on Simmons' return to play as he builds reconditioning having not played all season.
“I think he’s in a pretty good state mentally,” Nash said. “If we work with him in conjunction to his physical ramp-up to make sure he’s comfortable on and off the floor, I think he’ll be ready to play mentally when he’s physically ready.”
LeBron James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA's all-time leading points scorer in combined regular season and play-off history in the Los Angeles' Lakers loss to the Golden State Warriors.
The four-time NBA MVP led the scoring for the Lakers in Saturday's 117-115 defeat at Chase Center with 26 points, while also adding 15 rebounds and eight assists in another impressive display.
In doing so, James extended his streak of 25 points or more to 22 games and took his career points tally to 44,157, overtaking former Milwaukee Bucks and Lakers great Abdul-Jabbar's previous high of 44,149.
However, the achievement was bittersweet for the 37-year-old as it came in a narrow defeat for his side, with Klay Thompson grabbing the headlines thanks to his season-high 33 points.
"It's hard for me to speak on it now because I hate doing anything when it comes in a loss," James said. "And we had an opportunity to win a big game tonight."
Reflecting more widely on his career to date, James added: "I've been appreciative of the opportunity to play this game at the highest level.
"I love the game of basketball. I love being a part of the NBA and being able to inspire so many different sets of generations. I guess, it's a pretty big deal.
"In all my career, any time I've been linked with some of the greats, I've always just been in awe."
James still has work to do if he is to finish his career as the highest-scoring player in the regular season, as he trails Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and Karl Malone (36,928) with 36,526 points.
He has won four NBA Championships, four NBA MVP awards, four NBA Finals MVP awards and two Olympic gold medals with the United States in an illustrious career.
After hitting another milestone, Warriors pair Thompson and Steph Curry were among those to laud evergreen James.
"It's wild to think about how many games he's played, how long he's been doing it. The longevity of it all is legendary," Curry said.
"To be in that position where you've played that many games, you've been in so many different play-off runs, won championships and done it year after year, there is no real end in sight.
"That's a pretty special accomplishment. He's probably got his eyes set on the 'real' scoring title. It's crazy to think about."
Thompson added: "I don't know how much longer he has, maybe it's two years, maybe it's three. But NBA fans should appreciate it while they're watching such an amazing player."
James has a team-high 1,159 points this term for the Lakers, who are 26-31 following their loss to the Warriors, at an average of 29 per game across his 40 outings – only Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid (29.5) has averaged more.
Indeed, James' 29-point average is his best since 2009-10 when finishing with 29.7 through 76 games with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Klay Thompson shot a season-best 33 points, marking a major milestone in his recovery from long-term injury, as the Golden State Warriors narrowly edged the Los Angeles Lakers 117-115 on Saturday.
Thompson has been slowly building up his game time since returning from consecutive ACL and Achilles injuries that left him on the shelf for two and a half years, and recently bumped it up to 30 minutes per game, which allowed him to top score against the Lakers.
The 32-year-old shot five-of-nine from beyond the arc, with Stephen Curry (24 points, five rebounds, eight assists) taking a backseat. LeBron James managed 26 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists for the Lakers.
"After not feeling that feeling for a few years, don't take a 30-ball lightly in this league," Thompson said after the win at Chase Center.
"I know that is always in me, but these things happen naturally. If I can play to do that every fourth quarter, I would. It's the flow of the game. Great things happen with time.
"It was really inspiring for myself. There were so many long days in this building, so many long days doing those tedious things. That is something that I wasn't used to prior due to my ability to play nightly. Now that I am able to do that, it inspires me to keep going.
"I am not satisfied. It felt really freaking good, though."
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was effusive in his praise of Thompson after the victory that takes his team to 42-15 for the season.
"[He was] phenomenal," Kerr said. "Just took one game at a time when we desperately needed him. With our offense kind of struggling to [find] a groove, and he got hot and took over the game."
Curry – who uncharacteristically managed just one three-pointer from eight attempts on the night – was also impressed with Thompson's efforts, saying: "It's still early in his comeback, but every night is a step in the right direction. To have that energy, that confidence in himself, nothing else matters in that moment."
Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant was relieved to come through the "noise" surrounding James Harden after his blockbuster trade to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Sixers signed up Harden and Paul Millsap this week from the Nets, sending Seth Curry, reserve center Andre Drummond, Ben Simmons and two first-round picks the other way.
Harden had last January forced his way out of the Houston Rockets to move to Brooklyn and team up with Durant and Kyrie Irving, but the Nets' 'Big Three' played just 365 minutes together across 16 games in the regular season and playoffs.
Although the Nets went 13-3 in that time, Harden and Irving were each absent for three games of the seven-game series against eventual champions the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2020-21 postseason.
Injury problems have persisted this season, while Irving has missed 10 games due to not having had the COVID-19 vaccination, and the Nets were on a 10-game skid when the Harden trade went through.
Durant insists Harden does not owe an explanation after growing "unhappy" in Brooklyn.
"James doesn't have to explain anything to anybody," he said before Saturday's 115-111 loss to the Miami Heat. "He's his own man. He makes his decisions on his career by himself. He doesn't owe anybody an explanation, and I wasn't looking for one.
"I'm just glad that we got this thing done and now we're able to move forward and get some of this noise away, and I'm sure he would feel the same way. But from around our team and around our group, there's noise about what may happen. So I'm glad we can push through that.
"I think once a person gets to that decision of 'I'm unhappy,' I think he's gone through a lot of steps to get there. So, no matter what I say or try to convince someone - I'm not saying I did this, but this is just my theory on this - no matter what I say or do to try to convince someone to change their mood from being unhappy to happy, I think that's when I'm pretty late to the party.
"He's made his decision. I'm sure people make their decision before they get to that mode of being unhappy. I didn't have any conversations with James up until then. I thought everything was solid. I don't do any convincing. I'm sure you make those choices and decisions on your own as an individual. Me as a friend, I just have to accept it."
Harden saw his new team move to 34-22 with an impressive 103-93 defeat of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Joel Embiid continued his MVP form with a triple-double, making a minimum of 25 points for the 31st game in a row, and he believes Harden's arrival will only help him perform better.
"He's going to make the game easy for all of us, especially me," said Embiid. "I don't get a lot of easy shots. I have to work for most of them. I hope he's going to make my game easier."
Kyrie Irving is holding out hope that New York City's vaccination mandate will eventually get overturned enabling him to play home games for the struggling Brooklyn Nets.
Irving scored 29 points, including 20 in the final quarter, as the Nets suffered their 11th straight defeat on Saturday, going down 115-111 to the Miami Heat.
The point guard will be unavailable for the Nets' next three games, as they are all at home at the Barclays Center where he cannot play due to his vaccination status.
"I still wish I could be out there at home," Irving told reporters after the game.
"Some people say it's as simple as, 'hey, go get this, go get the shot.' No, it's not as simple as that for me in my life, but ultimately still praying for a better outcome."
The defeat means the Nets slip perilously close to going below .500 with a 29-27 record.
Brooklyn also traded out James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers this week, while star forward Kevin Durant is still out injured. The Harden trade did mean the Nets landed Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond.
Irving said he felt no guilt for being unable to play home games as the Nets continued to slide.
"There's no guilt that I feel," Irving said. "I'm the only player that has to deal with this in New York City because I play there.
"If I was anywhere else in another city then it probably wouldn't be the same circumstances. But because I'm there, we have [mayor] Eric Adams, we have the New York mandate, we have things going on that are real-life circumstances that are not just affecting me. So you ask me these questions, I don't feel guilt.
"I'm just living my life as best I can just like everybody else that missed these last two years. I didn't have a plan in place while all this was going on, didn't know.
"The NBA and the NBPA made it very clear that there would be things that I would be able to do to work around this. And that's off the table. So you tell me if I'm just alone out here or do I have support from everybody else that's dealing with the same thing?"
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