The Golden State Warriors suffered a disappointing 114-105 home loss to the short-handed Denver Nuggets, and head coach Steve Kerr did not hold back in his postgame remarks.
Facing a Nuggets squad without stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, the Warriors struggled with turnovers and energy, allowing Denver to control the game.
Kerr expressed frustration with his team's lack of urgency, execution and body language, stating bluntly, "It's hard to win an NBA game when you throw the ball to the other team 20 times."
Golden State's sluggish start set the tone, as they fell behind early and never fully recovered. Denver capitalized on the Warriors' mistakes, outrebounding them by 15 and punishing their sloppy execution.
Kerr criticized his team's mindset, admitting that the absence of Denver's stars may have led to a lack of focus.
"The minute we heard all those guys were out, it's like, ‘Alright guys, here we go,'" he said, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. "We didn't respond right away, we played poorly out of the gate and we never found rhythm."
Steve Kerr: "We got what we deserved."
On what sparked his agitated first quarter timeout huddle: "Bad body language." pic.twitter.com/PWQ2fBDYIl
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 18, 2025
Kerr also pointed to the Warriors' overall approach, noting their poor execution and body language.
"These are always tough nights," Kerr added. "You go into a game, and the other team's best players are out … there's this natural letdown, even if you raise it, you bring it up, you talk about it, but we got what we deserved."
For a team fighting for playoff positioning, this loss exposed lingering inconsistencies. If the Warriors hope to make a serious push, they will need to clean up their execution-and heed Kerr's wake-up call.
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This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 9:23 AM.