Warriors News: Golden State Out Of First Place Amid Stephen Curry, Draymond Green Injuries

All of the injuries and drama are catching up to the Golden State Warriors. The defending champions lost again Sunday night, and the defeat knocked them off the top of the Western Conference standings.

Golden State was beaten by the San Antonio Spurs 104-92. It marked the Warriors’ third loss in five games as the team fell on the road while playing shorthanded. Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson combined to score 51 points without Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

“I've had a dream run for four and a half years. We've had such a charmed existence the last four seasons. This is the toughest stretch we've been in,” Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr told reporters after the game, via ESPN.com.

“This is the real NBA. We haven't been in the real NBA the last few years. We've been in this dream. And so now we're faced real adversity and we got to get out of it ourselves.”

A day before losing in San Antonio, Golden State was defeated in Dallas to a Mavericks’ team that sits below .500. The Warriors were blown out by the Houston Rockets Thursday night, kicking off what has turned into a three-game losing streak.

The Warriors have never lost four straight games under Kerr.

Curry has missed five straight games with a groin injury. Green didn’t play Saturday or Sunday because of a toe injury. The forward missed Tuesday’s win over the Atlanta Hawks after being suspended a game for his verbal altercation with Durant.

Regular-season injuries aren’t exactly new for Kerr’s Warriors. Curry missed 31 games last year. Durant sat out 20 games in his first year with Golden State when it looked like a knee injury might end his season.

Never have the Warriors been without two of their All-Stars simultaneously for an extended period of time. The recent Durant-Green spat gives this rough patch a different feel than anything Golden State has faced over the past few seasons.

Golden State started the year with 12 wins in their first 13 games as Curry was putting up MVP-caliber numbers. The Warriors are now percentage points behind the Portland Trail Blazers for the West’s No.1 seed. Six teams in the conference are within two games or fewer of Golden State.

The Warriors don’t play again until Wednesday. They’ll start a four-game homestand by hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have one fewer loss than Golden State. Over their next six games, the Warriors don’t play one team that currently has a losing record.

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